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| N.C. Sheriff Cites Missing Files Related to Jail Inmate Death |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/10/2003 |
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Memos, letters and computer files from the past four years are missing from the Cherokee County sheriff's office - including those related to the death of a jail inmate who died of diabetes after being denied emergency care. State law requires government documents to be available for public inspection and to be preserved when there's a change in office. Neither former Sheriff Alan Kilpatrick nor former jail administrator Judy Mason would comment on the missing files. The missing documents include those related to the death of Christopher Lee Wood, who died of diabetes after being denied emergency care last September. Newly elected sheriff Keith Lovin said he entered office in December, he found empty filing cabinets and computers wiped clean of all files except for operating programs. 'When I came into my office the first day, there was a desk, a file cabinet, a paper shredder and a disassembled computer,' Lovin said. County officials disclosed the documents had disappeared after the Asheville Citizen-Times sought public records written by Kilpatrick and Mason between Sept. 1 and Sept. 18. The request could not be filled because the county's attorney, new sheriff and county commissioners could not locate the requested files, officials said. 'If there were any records and they're not in the jail or sheriff's office, then they have been taken by either Ms. Mason or Mr. Kilpatrick,' county attorney R. Scott Lindsay said. 'Or, they've been destroyed.' A memo Lindsay sent to Kilpatrick on Nov. 18 said the county attorney had received an anonymous phone call alleging that documents were being destroyed. 'I do not know whether anything is being destroyed, but I would strongly advise that all official records or papers related to ... the Sheriff's Department and Jail during your term in office be preserved and maintained,' the memo said. Lindsay said he spoke with Kilpatrick after sending him the memo by fax and was told no documents were being destroyed. Detailed phone records from Kilpatrick's term in office also are missing. Kilpatrick had repeatedly refused to give the county finance department itemized phone records, Lindsay said. 'The finance office would only get the bottom portion of the bill saying what is owed,' he said. Mason was indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with Wood's death. Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Jan. 22 to taking too long to notify the state Department of Health and Human Services of Wood's death, a misdemeanor. Mason's attorney, Jerry Townson, declined to comment on behalf of his client and said he advised Mason to do the same. Kilpatrick did not return phone calls. State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Charles Moody said he could not comment on whether the missing documents affected the agency's investigation of Wood's death. |
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