Coroner's ruling pending in Westmoreland jail inmate's death

A female inmate was found dead in a jail cell this month, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said Thursday.

Deputy Coroner Al Lonzo said Amber Knepshield, 32, was pronounced dead at 12:22 a.m. in a Westmoreland County prison cell Oct. 3. Lonzo said the office is awaiting results from an autopsy and no cause or manner of death has been determined. A final determination could take up to six weeks, he said.

It is the second reported death of an inmate at the Hempfield lockup in the last year and third since 2023.

According to court records, Knepshield was charged by New Kensington police in January and again in February with drug-related offenses and was jailed Sept. 26, where she was held in lieu of bonds totaling $60,000.

Defense attorney David Mulock, her attorney of record, said he didn’t know details surrounding her death.

Warden Steve Pelesky did not respond to a request for comment.

County Commissioner Doug Chew, chairman of the county’s prison board, said officials were notified about Knepshield’s death.

“I have never been more confident in the prison leadership. I interact with them nearly daily. With our current warden, three deputies and PrimeCare health services (the jail’s medical provider), I am confident that we take all reasonable measures for the safety of the inmates in our care,” Chew said in text message.

Commissioner Ted Kopas said the death was under investigation and declined further comment.

Charles Madden Jr., 53, of Ligonier committed suicide in the jail Oct. 11, 2024, according to the coroner’s office.

Lawsuit filed in 2023 case

Meanwhile, county officials were sued late last month by a family who claims their relative’s fatal overdose while jailed in Westmoreland County in 2023 was a result of negligence and failure to adequately care for addicted inmates.

According to the six-count lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Terry L. Brumley Jr., 33, of Southwest Greensburg died at the facility after consuming fentanyl that was smuggled in by another inmate.

The lawsuit, which names former Warden Bryan Kline, Pelesky as acting warden, the jail’s medical provider and unnamed guards as defendants, claims prison staff failed to prevent drugs from being smuggled into the facility and to train employees to recognize and treat addiction and prevent overdoses.

Kline, who resigned as warden in September 2023, said he was no longer in charge at the jail when Brumley died and declined further comment.

Brumley was found unresponsive in his cell Sept. 28, 2023, and was unable to be revived after being administered several doses of Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose, according to the lawsuit.

“The collective failure to adequately prevent the entry of fentanyl in the prison and into the possession of inmates, including Terry, created a risk that such potentially lethal opioid drugs would be used by inmates, including Terry, resulting in catastrophic consequences such as death,” the lawsuit states.

Brumley was among four inmates who overdosed that day. Three other inmates were hospitalized but survived the overdose.

Following a grand jury investigation in Westmoreland County, criminal charges were filed last month against Davi J. Roman, 29, of New Kensington, alleging he smuggled drugs into the jail and provided them to as many as six inmates, including Brumley.

The grand jury presentment filed last month alleged Roman was seen on the jail’s security video removing what appears to be drugs from a body cavity, consuming some and over the next two days interacting with multiple other inmates, including Brumley.

Brumley had been held at the jail since Jan. 4, 2023, according to jail records.

He was accused of stealing a van belonging to a Youngwood business, crashing it in New Stanton and then leading troopers on a foot chase. Police said in court papers that Brumley appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine and they seized drug paraphernalia from his pocket.

Brumley pleaded guilty Aug. 29, 2023, to theft, criminal trespass, flight to avoid apprehension and related offenses. He was sentenced to 1½ to 3 years in a state prison, according to court records.

Roman is awaiting a preliminary hearing, scheduled for Oct. 21, on charges of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with Brumley’s overdose and a fatal overdose of a New Kensington woman. Prosecutors contend Roman provided the drugs used in the fatal overdose of Shaunna Thomas, 27, formerly of Jeannette. Thomas was found dead in Roman’s home on Sept. 26, 2023.

Brumley’s lawsuit is one of two pending in federal court against Westmoreland County in connection with an inmate’s death.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in 2023 by the family of a Butler County woman, who claimed her death in the Westmoreland County Prison was caused by negligence. Her lawsuit claims jail staff didn’t recognize she came into the facility under the influence of drugs and did not receive proper medical care before she was found unresponsive in her cell Sept. 15, 2019.

Her death was ruled an overdose and a lawsuit filed against the county and jail continues to be litigated.