
MADISON — The inmate who was discovered dead inside her cell late Friday at the Somerset County Jail in Madison was identified Monday as Amber Marie Mills, according to law enforcement officials, who said her death was not considered suspicious.
Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, who identified Mills early Monday evening as the inmate, said she had been at the jail since Sept. 9 on several warrants, including three counts of drug possession, assault, violation of conditions of release, obstructing report of a crime and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. Three more charges of Class B aggravated forgery were added after she was incarcerated at the jail, Mitchell said.
Shannon Moss, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, which is investigating the death, wrote in an email earlier Monday that the state police would not identify the inmate because an investigation was ongoing.
Moss said a 29-year-old woman was discovered unresponsive inside her cell at about 11 p.m. Friday.
“Correctional staff immediately began life-saving measures until emergency medical services arrived but the female was ultimately pronounced deceased,” Moss wrote in her email. “The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit were notified and asked to assist which is standard protocol.”
Moss said an autopsy was performed Sunday.
“There is nothing suspicious about the death,” Moss said.
Mitchell had said Saturday afternoon that he went to the jail late Friday after being notified of the death and that the state police were investigating the matter.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner was scheduled to perform an autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of death, he said at the time.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less