16-Year-Old Girl Died in Juvenile Detention Center Last Year, and Now 3 Guards Face Charges
Five former employees of a Georgia youth detention center, including three guards, were indicted on charges related to the death of 16-year-old Alexis Sluder.
Five former employees of a juvenile detention center in Georgia have been indicted on child cruelty charges related to the death of a 16-year-old girl who died while in custody last year, authorities said.
The indictment, which was handed down on Aug. 28, comes after the death of 16-year-old Alexis Sluder, an Ellijay girl who died while in custody on Aug. 27, 2022, the agency said.
Investigators said the teenager had been transferred to the facility less than 24 hours before she was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the Associated Press and WTVC-TV.
Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Commissioner Tyrone Oliver told WTVC-TV at the time that the girl “had been experiencing an adverse reaction" to "an illegal substance she ingested before her admittance into our facility."
In an emailed statement to PEOPLE on Sept. 11, citing a GBI medical examiner’s report, Whitfield County Coroner Clyde McDaniel Jr. confirmed Sluder died of methamphetamine toxicity and that her death was accidental.
Those charged in the indictment are: Maveis Brooks, Russell Ballard, Rebecka Phillips, Monica Headrick and David McKinney.
Brooks, 35, was a sergeant at the juvenile detention center, Ballard, 62, was a cadet and Phillips, 45, was an officer, per the release. Hedrick was a nurse at the facility and center and McKinney was its director.
