A grand jury charged a jail nurse after investigators said she failed to secure medical care for 41-year-old Michael Turner Jr.
GRANBURY, Texas — A Hood County grand jury has indicted jail nurse Rachel Sanders Miller in the in-custody death of Michael Turner Jr., who died in April 2023, according to records referenced by county officials and the Texas Rangers. The case, rarely brought against jail medical staff in Texas, has renewed questions from Turner’s family about what happened inside the county jail.
The indictment marks a significant step in a long-running investigation led by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Rangers into the circumstances leading to Turner’s death. Officials have not publicly released a full account of his medical crisis or the final autopsy findings. Miller is accused of failing to take reasonable action to obtain medical care after being told Turner was in distress. The charge mirrors statements from watchdogs who say criminal cases tied to jail deaths seldom reach this stage in Texas, even as inmate fatalities draw scrutiny across the state.
Turner, 41, died while held at the Hood County Jail after returning to the area in early 2023. His daughter, Sara Youngblood, said their relationship had only recently begun to mend when he moved closer to her family in Granbury. Youngblood said she urged Turner to address a parole matter from another state, and he later entered custody in Hood County. “He met my kids, those were his grandbabies,” she said, recalling the last weeks before his death. The morning Turner suffered a medical emergency, jail staff called for EMS, but investigators later concluded a nurse failed to act when told he needed help. The indictment alleges Miller’s inaction contributed to Turner’s death. Authorities have not said how long Turner was in distress before an ambulance was requested, or what specific symptoms he experienced.
Jail oversight advocates called the indictment unusual. Krish Gundu, executive director of the Texas Jail Project, said criminal charges against jail personnel in custody deaths are rare, even though county jails report more than 100 such deaths statewide in a typical year. In Hood County, officials have declined to release a full incident timeline, citing the ongoing case. The county has not answered detailed questions about staffing levels, training for medical emergencies, or whether outside contractors provided health care inside the jail at the time. It is also unknown whether internal policy reviews prompted discipline beyond the criminal case against Miller. Youngblood said her family has not received a detailed explanation from investigators about the final minutes of her father’s life.
Public records show the Rangers took the lead after the April 2023 incident, a standard practice when a death occurs in county custody. Granbury is a fast-growing seat for Hood County, and the jail has faced the same pressures seen across Texas facilities: overcrowding cycles, rising mental health needs, and reliance on nurses and detention officers to triage emergencies. Recent high-profile cases in other jurisdictions have amplified calls for clearer standards and faster responses when inmates complain of medical distress. In interviews, local residents said the Turner case struck a nerve because it involved a criminal charge against a caregiver, not only detention staff.
Court filings indicate the grand jury returned an indictment in November 2025. The charge described by investigators is criminally negligent homicide, alleging Miller failed to take reasonable action to obtain medical care after being notified of a medical emergency. Prosecutors have not announced a trial date. Next steps include Miller’s arraignment, pretrial motions, and discovery, where both sides will examine medical charts, jail logs, call records, and video. The sheriff’s office has not released internal reviews, and DPS has not provided a comprehensive report. State jail standards require that medical needs be addressed promptly, but enforcement typically occurs through inspections and administrative findings rather than criminal courts.
Outside the jail, Youngblood said she is focused on the facts. “He needed help and nobody helped him,” she said. Neighbors who knew Turner from the months before his death described him as trying to stabilize his life. A retired paramedic who lives near the jail said that, in small counties, nurses often shoulder heavy loads during overnight hours. “When someone says they can’t breathe or feel chest pain, the clock starts,” the neighbor said. Residents left flowers near the jail entrance after news of the indictment, and one note read, “Answers matter.”
As of Tuesday, authorities had not released a full narrative of Turner’s final hours or the medical examiner’s official cause of death. Prosecutors are expected to file a scheduling order in the coming weeks, and a hearing date will set the pace for the case.
Author note: Last updated December 2, 2025.