A Jamaican woman in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement died in a hospital this week after falling ill at an Otay Mesa-area jail, the federal agency reported Friday.
Marjorie Annmarie Bell, 48, was taken to Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center on Thursday morning for evaluation of complaints of body aches, nausea and chest pain. The detainee did not respond to treatment and succumbed to heart failure just before 1 p.m., according to ICE public affairs.
Bell had sought admission to the United States on Dec. 24 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, where she allegedly presented a counterfeit Canadian passport to Customs and Border Protection personnel. She was transferred to ICE custody Jan. 2 and was being held pending immigration proceedings.
Federal officials have notified Bell's family and the Jamaican Embassy in Washington, D.C., about the fatality.
It was the first death of a detainee in ICE custody at Otay Detention Facility in five years, according to the agency.
