DARTMOUTH — The third inmate in five months has died while awaiting trial in Bristol County.

Scott Lajoie, 49, died in late September before he could be tried on assault charges.

A report out this month from CourtWatch MA, a justice watchdog project, shows that at least 13 people have died in pretrial detention in Massachusetts this year. Only Suffolk County, at four, had more than Bristol County.

The two earlier Bristol deaths were suicides: Mark Trafton, 59, at the Ash Street Jail in May, and Cierra Brin, 31, at the Bristol County House of Correction in July, according to the Bristol County district attorney's office.

Lajoie’s death was not a suicide. The Fall River man died of natural causes stemming from ongoing health problems, according to the DA's office.

Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III, said Lajoie was charged with assault and battery of a family or household member and violation of a restraining order. He was being held at the Dartmouth jail prior to trial because a judge deemed him dangerous in June.

Miliote said Lajoie suffered from liver disease and diabetes.

The inmate’s daughter, Jessica Lajoie, 25, confirmed that he had those health problems. She said she had not spoken to her father recently, until he went to the hospital. If her father had any complaints about his medical care at the jail, she was not aware of them.

The DA's office does not suspect foul play. Miliote said Lajoie’s death certificate indicates his organs were failing.

“It is still an open investigation but does not appear to be anything suspicious at this time,” he said.

According to Miliote, surveillance video from Sept. 23 shows that Lajoie was unsteady on his feet in the bathroom and began to fall. Another inmate caught him before he went down to the floor. A third inmate alerted a correctional officer. Medical staff arrived in the bathroom within two minutes to render aid.

Lajoie had no marks or bruising on his body, Miliote said.

He said Lajoie was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he died on Sept. 26 at approximately 11 a.m.

The office of Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who runs the jails, confirmed that Lajoie’s death was the third this year in Bristol County, and that all three of the deceased were pretrial detainees.

“Many inmates in Massachusetts and across the country are coming to correctional facilities with health challenges,” Hodgson said. “We will keep Mr. Lajoie’s family in our prayers.”

The sheriff’s spokesman, Jonathan Darling, said Lajoie was terminally ill and died of natural causes at St. Luke’s.

Any time an inmate dies in custody, a prosecutor and the state police unit assigned to the DA's office investigate.