A former Missouri substitute teacher who was fired and charged with raping a 14-year-old female student dies in a jail cell.
Brandon Holbrook, 30, was found dead in a cell at the St. Louis County Justice Center. This is after being charged with three counts of statutory rape and six counts of statutory sodomy.
On Monday afternoon, Holbrook was found unresponsive while alone in his cell. Although the exact cause of death is still unknown, the county executive, Doug Moore said that there were no signs of drug use or suicide. However, an autopsy is in process.
Earlier this month, Holbrook was accused of raping a 14-year-old female student who attends Bernard Middle School.
According to the police, Holbrook groomed the girl on social media after meeting her at the school in May. On three separate occasions, Holbrook is said to have raped the girl at her house. He does this while threatening to harm her if she tells the police or her family.
Police are investigating claims from two other alleged victims of Holbrook.
After prosecutors charged Holbrook, two other potential victims got in touch with police, according to St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus. Panus said that detectives were still looking into such claims. However, they had not yet provided the county prosecutor’s office with their findings.
The county executive, Doug Moore, said that around 3:15 p.m., corrections officers checked on Holbrook and he was in good shape. About a half-hour later, they went to check on him again and found him on headphones while sitting upright in bed. They asked him to get up, but he didn’t respond. When a corrections officer entered the cell and tapped Holbrook’s shoulder, he discovered that he was unconscious.
A drug called Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, was administered to Holbrook while a corrections officer performed CPR on him inside the jail in an effort to revive him.
According to Moore, jailers often provide Narcan to inmates who are “unresponsive since drug use is common among people who come into our care.”
CPR was also performed by the jail’s medical staff and by Clayton paramedics. However, Holbrook didn’t survive.
Holbrook is the third person to die at the St. Louis County Jail this year. This follows the deaths of five inmates in 2019.
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Holbrook’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, wants an independent investigation conducted into his client’s death. “It appears to be very unusual,” Rosenblum said. “I am certain he was not suicidal,” he added.
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