RICHMOND, Va. — Word on the street is the only source of information that a grieving family said they have as to what happened to their loved one, Demario White. He's the Richmond City Jail inmate who died on March 9.
"There's so many rumors just going around," said Diana Jennings-Bey, the mother of White's daughter. “We need to know what happened to him.”
Sheriff Antionette Irving's Office released a public death notification last week which only disclosed that "an inmate passed away late evening on March 9, 2025" and that "the cause of death is unknown and will be determined by the Office of the Medical Examiner."
But White's mother Willnette Noble said the sheriff's office won't give any details to the family about how he actually died. The only information she was provided was that he died, and there was a medical emergency.
“Nobody’s telling me nothing," Noble said.
“They're not trying to tell us nothing. They just keep saying they'll give you a call back. They're not trying to tell us anything," said White's daughter Raykeema Jennings-Bey.
White was serving a 16-month sentence for a probation violation, according to court records, and the family said he was set to be released just 16 days after he died.
“Knowing that he was in the city jail, I’m thinking he’s all right. I know he ain't in the street nowhere. I know he’s in the city jail. I’m thinking he’s all right. Then I get a phone call that he’s gone," Noble said. “My heart hurts so bad. My heart’s hurting. I haven’t had an appetite. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I miss my son, knowing I can’t see him no more. He’s gone.”
CBS 6 filed a Freedom of Information Act request for emergency records in an effort to learn what may have happened in this incident.
On March 9, the jail placed at least two calls to 911. One of them was for a "person down." The caller stated there was a "medical emergency" involving an inmate, but other than that, she didn't have many details for dispatchers. She stated she was "not in the room" with the inmate in question.
“What is he doing, standing, sitting or lying down?” the dispatcher asked.
“I think he's laying down on the ground," the caller said.
“Is he moving at all?” the dispatcher asked.
“I’m not sure. I can't see that far," the caller said.
In the second call to 911, a caller, who said she was using a security supervisor's phone, reported an overdose.
“I’m calling from the Richmond City Justice Center. I need EMS on an inmate that overdosed," the caller said.
It apparently wasn't the first time that day that the jail placed a call for an overdose, according to the caller.
“Can we just get help? We just had to send somebody out earlier today on the same issue-- overdose," the caller told dispatchers.
Irving would not confirm with CBS 6 whether these calls were related to White's death.
James Mercante, a spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department, said the sheriff's office "did not immediately notify or request an RPD investigation following the individual succumbing at a local hospital on March 9."
Therefore, RPD is not investigating White's death, breaking away from standard practice in which Mercante said RPD "normally" investigates deaths of those in the custody of the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office.
When asked why the sheriff's office did not notify RPD, Irving only said, "We have been in communication with RPD."
While Irving said her office "has spoken with the family" of White, Noble said no conversation has resulted in meaningful information, and she feels dismissed.
"I’m not going to be satisfied until I find out what happened to my son," Noble said.
Irving did not answer specific questions about White's death, saying the cause of death has not yet been determined. A spokesperson for the medical examiner's office confirmed that information was not yet available.
The sheriff added that "this incident is still under review and being investigated," but she did not confirm who exactly was investigating.
The Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails, which oversees local jails, said it was notified of the death on March 10 and "is in the process of conducting a review."
As CBS 6 has previously reported, the Richmond Jail is already under a compliance plan with the board after a string of overdose deaths in 2022 and 2023 resulted in an investigation that found the facility violated a regulation that requires officers to provide regular security inspections of inmates. That compliance plan also referenced the need for jail officers to not forge documentation of their security rounds.
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