TX prisoner dies of hyperthermia with 106-degree body temperature according to preliminary findings

The Robertson Unit is a prison in Abilene. The Robertson Unit is a prison in Abilene. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close TX prisoner dies of hyperthermia with 106-degree body temperature according to preliminary findings 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Texas prisoner died Sunday after overheating outside an Abilene lock-up, when his core body temperature soared to 106 degrees, officials said.

While preliminary autopsy findings pegged Seth Donnelly’s death at the Robertson Unit as hyperthermia, a prison spokesman on Wednesday said “illicit drugs” may have been involved.

In the early hours of Friday morning, the 29-year-old from Tarrant County went out with an inmate crew to run the prison’s search and rescue dogs in a training exercise. After one run, Donnelly fell ill, so officers let him sit out the next run in a cooled trailer.

When the crew came back from their second dog run around 4 a.m., Donnelly was “in distress,” according to Deputy Inspector General Joseph Buttitta. Officers took him back to the unit and called for outside paramedics, who rushed him to Hendrick Hospital around 5 a.m.

“At some point at the ER they checked his internal body temperature Friday morning and it was 106,” said Justice of the Peace Sparky Dean, adding that he didn’t know whether Donnelly ever regained consciousness.

Until Sunday, the North Texas prisoner lingered on life support before dying just after 1 p.m. at the hospital.

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Afterward, initial toxicology testing at the hospital came up positive for methamphetamine, Buttitta said, cautioning that he didn’t know how reliable the quick testing might be or whether the man was on any medications that might generate a false positive.

A later search of Donnelly’s housing unit and the area around the dog run trails didn’t turn up any illicit drugs, according to Buttitta.

“Foul play is not suspected,” Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel said in a statement. “Investigators are examining all factors to include if illicit drug use may have played a role in the death.”

The final autopsy report isn’t expected until the middle or end of July, officials said. In the meantime, the prison system’s Office of the Inspector General will probe the death, as is standard.

“This is very serious, it’s a death in custody,” Buttitta said. “We will do a thorough investigation - I accept nothing less than that.”

Donnelly, who was serving a 12-year sentence for intoxicated manslaughter, would have been eligible for parole next year.

Read more about Donnelly and hear from his family on HoustonChronicle.com.

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