Tina Elrite (Full Name: Tina Marie Elrite) Died In Custody At The Shasta County Jail
SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (January 8, 2026) – A woman identified as Tina Elrite has tragically died in custody while being held at the Shasta County Jail.
Shasta County officials are saying that the incident took place around 4:30 a.m. during a routine wellness check. Officers noticed that Tina Elrite was unresponsive in her cell.
Jail staff began life-saving measures. The woman was transferred to a nearby hospital to receive additional care.
Sadly, Tina Elrite was pronounced dead roughly an hour after being discovered. This is the fifth time that a person has died while being held at the Shasta County Jail since January 2025.
A full investigation into the incident remains ongoing at this time.
Liability for Shasta County Jail Inmate Deaths
Jails have a legal obligation to protect all of the inmates in their care from reasonably foreseeable sources of harm. To that end, jails must provide all inmates in their care reasonably adequate medical attention. Failing to give inmates adequate medical care is considered a form of cruel and unusual punishment and therefore unconstitutional. There are many ways that a jail may have failed to adequately care for an inmate.
- Wellness Checks: Jails may have failed to perform periodic wellness checks on the inmates in their care.
- Medications: Jails may have failed to give the inmates in their care the medications that they needed.
- Overdose: Jails may have failed to give an inmate adequate treatment as they were going through an overdose.
- Medical Conditions: Jails may have failed to properly treat the medical conditions that an inmate had.
Not every instance of an illness or death at a jail will rise to the level of a constitutional violation. Rather, a jail could be liable for the death of an inmate if it was the result of deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. This could include instances where a jail was aware that an inmate required medical attention but still failed to act. For example, an inmate may have shown signs of being in serious distress but still didn’t receive any help.
Steps to Take After Shasta County Inmate Deaths
Far too many people are killed or seriously injured in jails every year. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “A total of 4,234 persons died in state and federal prisons in 2019, a 6.6% decrease from the 4,515 deaths in 2018 reported to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI, formerly the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program) data collection.” Certain actions should be taken after any inmate dies in custody.
- All of the medical records related to the incident should be gathered.
- Surveillance footage related to the incident should be collected.
- Eyewitnesses should be interviewed.
- The actions of jail officials leading up to the death should be understood.
- The family of any person who died in a jail should seek the guidance of experienced legal counsel.
Inmate deaths are often highly preventable. They tend to involve jails that are either overcrowded or understaffed. Jails are often quick to claim that any inmate death in their care was “natural.” But this label can often be highly misleading. Many deaths listed as natural actually involved some amount of medical neglect. The family of any person who died in custody may have legal recourse through a wrongful death claim.
Investigating Shasta County Inmate Deaths
We at Carrazco Law extend our deepest condolences to the family of Tina Elrite. Any person who may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. There needs to be a thorough investigation into what went wrong. It is deeply concerning that so many inmates have died at the Shasta County Jail in the last year alone.
Do you need more information about a Shasta County inmate death? Our team of civil rights advocates is here for you. We care deeply that inmates are aware of their rights and that those rights are being protected. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any particular incident, we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at (800) 541-3244.
