Autopsy: North Carolina inmate had meth in her system

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – An autopsy shows a woman’s death in a North Carolina jail was caused by methamphetamine poisoning.

News outlets reported North Carolina officials released an autopsy Tuesday in the death of 34-year-old Michele Smiley of Candler. The report says Smiley apparently ingested meth before being placed in the Buncombe County jail in Asheville on Oct. 6 for a probation violation. She died later that day.

A witness said Smiley told jailers she had ingested meth, but was left untreated for 26 minutes.

The autopsy showed Smiley was given a medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose but has no effect on a methamphetamine overdose. The autopsy found Naloxone in her system.

A state regulatory agency found last year that the jail’s staffers were deficient in their handling of Smiley.