Coroner: Toxicology needed for 2 dead at Lafayette jail

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - A coroner says toxicology reports are needed on two inmates who died after falling ill in their cells at the same northern Indiana jail.

Tippecanoe County Coroner Donna Avolt told the Journal & Courier Monday that "everything in these cases is going to rely on toxicology." Reports generally take four to six weeks to return from a laboratory.

Sheriff Bob Goldsmith says 42-year-old Isaiah Powe and 56-year-old Bonny Ahlrich were in separate parts of the jail's holding area in Lafayette when they were stricken hours apart Saturday.

Ahlrich was arrested Jan. 4 on a warrant. She was found dead in her cell.

Powe died at a hospital after being found unresponsive in his bunk, hours after being booked on charges of criminal confinement and a weapons charge.

Both were homeless.

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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com