By TERRI SANGINITI,
The News Journal
Preliminary laboratory results indicate that a state Department of Correction inmate did not die of Meningococcal Meningitis, state officials said today.
State Department of Correction spokeswoman Gail Stallings Minor said it is still not known what caused 24-year-old Demetrius Caldwell’s death.
Caldwell, who was committed to the Delaware Correctional Center on Nov. 6 for a violation of probation offense, was found unresponsive about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday in the prison infirmary.
Attempts by medical personnel to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.
Minor did not disclose how long Caldwell had been in the infirmary or what he was being treated for.
Prior to his death, Caldwell had no known life threatening illness and there were no obvious indications as to the cause of death, Minor said today. The cause of his death is still under investigation.
Last night, the Department of Correction announced that the Medical Examiner’s Office had determined a possible cause of death was Meningococcal Meningitis -- the worst strain of meningitis, Minor said.
As a precaution, the Department of Correction began preventive antibiotic measures for all inmates and staff who may have come into direct contact with Caldwell’s bodily secretions.
