Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Castlee Noble booking photo, courtesy photo
An inmate died in the Coryell County jail on Aug. 26, marking the first in-custody death at the jail since 2017.
Castlee Noble, 55, was found dead in his cell early Thursday morning. Noble had been in the Coryell County Jail since June 24 on a felony charge of continuous trafficking of a person. His bail had been set at $1 million, a price that led to multiple protests outside the jail following his booking.
It was reported in June that Noble was arrested along with seven others in a human trafficking and drug sting involving multiple local law enforcement agencies. Noble was in jail awaiting trial.
“My heart goes out to the family. It’s a very tragic event,” Sheriff Scott Williams told the Messenger in an interview on Aug. 26. “I’ve been around Mr. Noble several times and he’s been nothing but polite.”
Lee Ford Sr., who was Noble’s legal guardian, said he stopped by the jail on Thursday morning around 8:30 a.m. to visit Noble and was notified of his death.
“They didn’t notify me (before). I just happened to go visit,” Ford said in an interview with the Messenger on Aug. 26.
Ford said he last visited with Noble on Aug. 19 and said Noble was distraught about being locked up, saying he wanted to get out.
“His state of mind wasn’t too good,” Ford said.
Ford said his daughter tried to visit Noble on Aug. 24 but was refused twice. Ford said a nurse told his daughter that Noble had not been eating for five or six days, was not taking his medication and was sleeping under his bed.
Ford said Noble had a history of mental illness and multiple health issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure, that required medication.
The Messenger reached out to the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office to confirm Ford’s account, but the Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers.
The Messenger reached out to the Texas Rangers for comment, but a spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing and no details would be released at this time.
Thursday morning Sheriff Williams told the Messenger there were no signs of suicide or violence and Noble did not have any signs of COVID prior to his death. Williams said Noble was alone in his cell at the time of his death.
Ford said by the time he arrived at the jail Thursday morning Noble’s body had already been transported on the way to Dallas for an autopsy.
The family is looking into hiring someone to conduct an independent autopsy to determine the cause of death.
As of Friday evening, funeral arrangements for Noble had not been made because the family did not have custody of the body.
This is the first in-custody death at the Coryell County Jail since Kelli Leanne Page, 46, died on Oct. 8, 2017. Video showed Page struggling with jailers prior to her death and the medical examiner listed the manner of death a homicide. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit and it is still making its way through the courts.
