Autopsy shows what killed NC prison inmate who spent time in solitary confinement
Updated Feb. 26 with a response from the state Department of Public Safety, which oversees the prison system.
An autopsy of an inmate who died after being found unresponsive at the Warren Correctional Institution last year showed the cause of death as a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by an excessive intake of water.
Jordan William Jedlica, 32, died May 4 after being taken off life support at Duke University Medical Center in Durham. He had been transferred there from Maria Parham Health in Henderson after he was found having a seizure on the floor of his cell two days before his death.
The circumstances surrounding his death troubled his family, who told The News & Observer in May that they were concerned about the medical care he received while in solitary confinement. That’s where they said he was being housed when he was found.
The corrections officer who discovered him in his cell said there was a lot of water on the floor and that he may have vomited, the autopsy said. The report also said that officers were concerned that he may have been flooding his cell.
The autopsy report said Jedlica had suffered three seizures before going to the hospital, where the seizures continued. A urine test only found evidence of medications given to combat seizures.
At Duke, Jedlica showed “extraordinarily low electrolyte levels,” which were consistent with “water intoxification.”
“Water consumed in excess can result in electrolyte imbalance and death,” the autopsy said. “The findings of water in his cell may have represented water spilled by the decedent, or watery vomit or urine as a response to consumption of excess water, but are nonetheless suggestive that he consumed excess water.”
The autopsy by Dr. Craig Nelson of the state medical examiner’s office said it’s unknown why Jedlica was drinking so much water, but that “excess water consumption may occur in patients with psychiatric issues, or may be done deliberately for a variety of reasons.”
Nelson said no records indicated that Jedlica was harboring suicidal thoughts, and classified the manner of death as accidental.
No prison staff were disciplined or fired over the death and no policies or procedures were changed, said John Bull, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, in an email Wednesday. He said an attorney for Jedlica’s family has sent the department a letter asking that all evidence be preserved, but state officials are unaware of any lawsuit or legal claim from the family.
The autopsy said Jedlica’s body showed no signs of recent trauma, but his brain did show evidence of prior bruising in the right frontal lobe and temporal lobes. The autopsy cited medical records showing Jedlica had been treated in a hospital emergency room on Aug. 18, 2018, following an assault that reportedly left him unconscious. A CT scan did not show a serious head injury, though he did suffer a nasal bone fracture.
Jedlica was serving a one year and seven month sentence for breaking and entering. He had no record of infractions during his time in prison, a prison official said shortly after Jedlica’s death. The autopsy said he had requested restrictive housing and was placed in a single cell.
He and his siblings were born in New York, and the family moved to Cary in 1995. One of his siblings is Justin Jedlica, a reality TV star known as “the human Ken doll” for the dozens of elective plastic surgeries he has had.
Justin Jedlica told the N&O last year that his youngest brother showed signs from a young age of what the family now believe was likely autism. He had obsessive-compulsive tendencies and struggled in social situations, Justin Jedlica said.
Jordan Jedlica also had a history of drug abuse and his family had enrolled him in drug rehab programs.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 4:00 PM.