Family sues Denton County and sheriff over man’s death from dehydration in jail

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Denton County, Sheriff Tracy Murphree and other officials claim staff neglected a man who died of dehydration in the jail last September.

Heath Aaron Vandeventer, 27, was arrested on July 7, 2023, after his grandmother called 911 to report he was having a mental health crisis at their Argyle home. He was charged with assault on an elderly or disabled person, according to jail records.

During the two months he spent in prison, he lost over 45 kilograms, according to the prosecution. The cause of death was given as dehydration, with malnutrition being a contributing factor.

The lawsuit alleges that Denton County Jail staff were aware that Vandeventer suffered from schizoaffective paranoid disorder and schizophrenia and had previously been treated at Denton County MHMR.

County officials and staff failed to take action to prevent Vandeventer’s death, the lawsuit says. He did not have any psychoactive substances in his system to treat his active and acute mental illness, the lawsuit says.

Vandeventer was unresponsive and immobile for days before his body was removed from the prison on Sept. 13, the lawsuit says.

Throughout his time in custody, Vandeventer’s grandmother spoke with staff on several occasions about how to ensure appropriate care and support for him and was repeatedly assured that his mental and physical needs would be met, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit states that county policies and lack of training resulted in Vandeventer’s “slow and painful death during the two months he spent in the Denton County Jail.”

Ten months after his death, Vandeventer’s grandmother filed a wrongful death and negligence suit against the following defendants: Denton County; Sheriff Tracy Murphree; John Kissinger, Denton County Health Department Correctional Facility Director; Barry Caver, Jail Administrator and Deputy Chief of Police; Marty Buchanan, Division of Public Health and Health Authority Director; Matt Richardson, Denton County Health Department Director; Bruce Elsey, Sheriff’s Office Captain; and 25 other unnamed county employees.

Although a Tarrant County coroner’s report listed dehydration as the cause of death, the medical examiner also noted that suicide “cannot be completely ruled out,” according to the Dallas Morning News.

According to the report, Vandeventer weighed 300 pounds when he was admitted and 195.5 pounds when he died, The News reported. However, Denton County Jail records list his admission weight as 215 pounds.

As the News reported, the coroner’s report states that Vandeventer refused contact with medical personnel, was violent toward prison guards, refused medical care and food, and remained unclothed and unsanitary.

Denton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Captain Orlando Hinojosa confirmed he received the Denton Record-Chronicle’s request for comment but did not immediately comment Friday afternoon.

Denton County spokeswoman Dawn Cobb said Friday afternoon that the county had no comment on the lawsuit.