DA's office: No criminal wrongdoing by officers in Milwaukee County Jail death

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Aug 4, 2023 2:09 PM CST

UPDATE on Dec. 21, 2023. The Milwaukee Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death was due to choking, and the final manner of death was suicide.

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office completed its review of an investigation by the Waukesha County Sheriff's office into the death of a woman at the Milwaukee County Jail.

Cilivea Thyrion died by suicide last December while in custody, just days after her birthday. Thyrion had turned 20 four days prior. She was on suicide watch while in custody at the county jail but was still able to take her own life.

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The DA's office says on Dec. 16, 2022, Thyrion indicated she needed assistance because she was bleeding due to her menstrual cycle. The correctional officers, according to the DA's report, chose not to provide Thyrion standard sanitary accessories because those items are easily swallowed and thus deemed to create a risk for those on suicide watch. Thyrion was given an adult diaper, the DA's office says, and the correctional officers did not consider the diaper could be used in a way to self-harm.

Thyrion was placed in a pod in the jail just after 10 a.m., and approximately 20 minutes later, Thyrion indicated she could not breath and appeared to be choking. The DA's office says jail personnel were not able to retrieve anything from Thyrion's mouth, and lifesaving measures were performed but were unsuccessful. Thyrion was pronounced deceased at 11:13 a.m.

The diaper, according to the DA's office, remained unworn in Thyrion's pod with pieces torn off of it. Fragments from the diaper were recovered during Thyrion's autopsy.

The final autopsy is awaiting completion.

According to the DA's office, the evidence in this incident does not support a finding of criminal wrongdoing by the correctional officers who responded to Thyrion, nor by any other staff member employed at the Milwaukee County Jail.

The DA's office said the investigation into this incident has concluded.