Cause of death of Miami County inmate studied

Troy woman dies; inquiry could take 2 months, coroner says

The Miami County Coroner’s Office says it could take up to two months to rule on the cause of death for an inmate who died Saturday.

Katnie Moore, a 21-year-old Troy resident, was pronounced dead at a hospital after she was found around 11 a.m. unresponsive and not breathing on her bunk inside a cell she shared with several inmates.

Medical personnel at the jail performed CPR before Moore was taken to the hospital.

“There was no obvious sign of a physical condition that killed her,” said Miami County Coroner Dr. Steve Huffman.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on Sunday, but toxicology test results are expected to take up to eight weeks to complete.

Neither foul play nor suicide are suspected, Huffman said.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office said Moore vomited in her bed at some point before she died.

Moore was taken into custody by Troy police on Friday for allegedly violating a protection order, according to court records. The protective order stems from a Jan. 20 domestic violence incident involving her boyfriend Joseph Hawkins. The court issued a temporary protection order the following day.

Hawkins could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Ashley Brower, Moore’s friend and Hawkins’ cousin, said Moore was getting a ride home from Hawkins after work on Friday when they were stopped by police.

Brower said the couple had some problems they were working through, but she said Moore, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter and a country music fan, loved her cousin.

“She would do anything for anybody. She was a kind person; somebody that anybody should’ve gotten to know.”

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