The Tarrant County Jail on Oct. 11, 2022.
Amanda McCoy
amccoy@star-telegram.com
A 36-year-old woman died at the Tarrant County jail after four days in custody, according to county records.
Gemma Leigh Swingle died at the county jail at 100 N. Lamar St. about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s website. Swingle’s cause and manner of death has not been determined. Results of an autopsy are pending.
A detention officer performed a routine check of Swingle’s cell about 1:04 a.m. and noted she was OK, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. When the officer returned for another check at 1:39 a.m., she was found unresponsive, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Lifesaving measures were administered by the officer until medical staff from John Peter Smith Hospital arrived, the release stated.
Swingle had arrived at the Tarrant County jail on the morning of Aug. 25 and was facing charges of prostitution with previous conviction, forgery to obtain property or service, tampering with a government record, and escaping while arrested by Fort Worth police, according to court records.
Deaths in the jail are investigated by Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office jail staff, the TCSO Criminal Investigations Division, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, an outside law enforcement agency, JPS medical staff, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, according to the release.
This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 2:28 PM.
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Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.