Inmate Treated for Heroin Before Death

An Oxnard woman who died at the county jail’s medical ward in Ventura had been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and was being treated in custody for heroin withdrawal symptoms, officials said Saturday.

Kathleen Waite, 45, died about 7:30 p.m. Friday after being found unresponsive in her cell by a doctor, Sheriff’s Capt. Ken Warren said. The doctor and a deputy performed CPR but failed to revive her, Warren said.

A cause of death was not determined during an autopsy Saturday, coroner’s investigator Mitch Breese said. Drug and virus test results will be available in about eight weeks, he said.

“We didn’t find anything anatomically wrong with her and there was no trauma” to the body, Breese said.

Waite, who was unemployed and living with a friend, was arrested Tuesday in Oxnard. She was booked that day into the jail’s medical ward after exhibiting signs of drug withdrawal, Warren said.

Authorities refused to say if Waite was given medication to assist with her withdrawal symptoms.

In some cases, inmates suffering side effects from drug withdrawal are prescribed medication and then transferred to a specialized clinic outside the jail, said Dr. Lucille Pohley, a physician at the jail.

Waite’s former mother-in-law, Margaret Waite of Port Hueneme, said Waite was in poor health for several years and her condition further deteriorated after the death of Kathleen Waite’s husband, Clark, in 1995.

“I know she was having troubles, but she was a sweet person who liked to help people,” Margaret Waite said.

Funeral arrangements had not yet been made Saturday night. Waite is survived by a 26-year-old son, Marcus Waite of Oxnard.