On April 30, 2006 Patrol Officers were summonsed to the St. Mary's County Detention Center because of the reported death of an inmate. The investigation was subsequently assumed by Detectives from the St. Mary's County Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
The victim was Deborah Anne Hills, a 43 year old female from Salisbury, Maryland. She was served lunched at approximately 11:45 AM. At 12:00 PM Correctional Officers returned to retrieve her lunch tray and found that Ms. Hills had not eaten and was unresponsive. The officers began CPR. Hills was later transported to St. Mary's Hospital, by the Leonardtown Rescue Squad, where she was pronounced dead at 1:07 PM. The Chief Medical Examiners Office conducted an autopsy and preliminary findings revealed that the cause of death was congestive heart failure.
Ms. Hills had been incarcerated at the St. Mary's County Detention Center since January of this year for charges of bad checks. She was completing her sentence at the Detention Center and was awaiting extradition to Delaware for similar charges.