Medical examiner rules Kent female inmate jail death as ‘natural’
Published 5:11 pm Friday, May 16, 2025
A 45-year-old female inmate at the City of Kent Corrections Facility died of “dehydration and ketoacidosis, opiate withdrawal,” and her manner of death was natural, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Rena Rae Flaherty died on April 22 at the city jail, 1230 Central Ave. S., according to a May 14 report by the medical examiner. A corrections officer found her dead in a holding cell, according to Kent Police. She had been in the jail since April 19.
Because Kent Police oversee the jail, the department turned the death investigation over to the Valley Independent Investigative Team. The team, headed by the Auburn Police Department, has not yet issued a report about the death.
An Auburn Police spokesperson said in a May 12 email there was no update.
The city jail 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.
