Jacksonville woman dies in JSO custody; friend speaks exclusively to Action News Jax

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Family and friends are left with questions Saturday night following the death of  28-year-old Lina Odom.

Odom was detained on April 22, following an arrest on suspicion of  offering to commit or engage in prostitution.

She died after being transported to a local hospital on the Saturday morning.

Action News Jax Courtney Cole spoke to a friend of Odom’s who says she was upset and shocked when she found out what happened.

She also told Action News Jax she believes JSO could have done more to help her friend.

“It’s just hard to believe that someone in your circle and you know, that you’ve developed a friendship with is gone and we all feel like it could have been prevented,” said Andrea Appicelli, a friend of Odom.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a mugshot and arrest report of Odom on Saturday afternoon.

But her friend, Appicelli says she’s more than just a mugshot and the charge seen in their report.

“Lina was a very sweet, kind, caring person," Appicelli said. "She always was in a good mood and happy and you know unfortunately she just made some bad decisions along the way.”

Odom was set to be released from the Pre-Trial Detention Facility on Saturday.

She was removed from the dorm in the early-morning hours on Saturday as she appeared to be in some type of medical distress, according to Chris Hancock, the public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

Odom was then taken to the medical clinic on-site, but after staff realized she needed more attention she was transported to a local hospital where she later died.

“She got arrested on the 22nd.. (It's) now the 28th. Yt just makes sense that you know she may have been detoxing from drugs and needs assistance, and they weren’t taking it serious,” Appicelli told Action News Jax.

JSO says the investigation into Odom’s death is in the early stages.

Right now, the department doesn't suspect foul play.

Action News Jax has put in a request to JSO to dig deeper into how many people have died while under JSO custody.  We will bring you those details when we receive them.