The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman found dead at the City of Kent Corrections Facility but has not yet determined a cause and manner of death.
Rena Rae Flaherty, 45, was found dead at about 8:05 a.m. Tuesday, April 22 in a holding cell by a corrections officer, according to Kent Police and the Medical Examiner’s Office, whose April 24 report listed Flaherty’s cause and manner of death as pending.
“Cases that have cause and manner of death listed as pending will be added to the list again when cause and manner of death are determined,” according to the Medical Examiner’s Office website.
Flaherty had been in the jail since April 19, according to police.
Kent Police requested The Valley Independent Investigative Team to conduct the death investigation because corrections officers are part of the Kent Police Department.
The Kent Reporter has reached out to the Auburn Police Department, which is overseeing the investigation, for an update about the case, but has not received a response.
The city jail, 1230 Central Ave. S., opened in 1986. It houses misdemeanor offenders arrested by police as well as those sentenced to less than one year in Kent Municipal Court, which is next to the jail. The crimes include driving under influence, domestic violence, minor assaults, petty theft and others. Felony cases are handled by King County’s Maleng Regional Justice Center jail in Kent or the downtown Seattle county jail.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected that Flaherty was found in a holding cell.
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