A 65-year-old man being held at the Slidell City Jail was found dead early Sunday, triggering a police investigation into what happened inside his cell. Officers discovered the man unresponsive and could not revive him. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner is set to perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, as reported by WWL-TV.
Police identified the man as 65-year-old Douglas Koch, who had been booked about two days earlier on a charge of second-offense DWI, according to WWL-TV. The department's Criminal Investigations Division said preliminary information indicates Koch appears to have suffered a medical emergency in his sleep. Investigators told reporters he was alone in his cell when officers found him early Sunday morning.
Autopsy And Coroner’s Review
The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office will conduct a post-mortem examination and order any needed toxicology tests to establish how and why Koch died. The office’s public guidance notes that autopsies are requested when the circumstances of a death are unclear and that some lab work can take several weeks to finish. Officials say findings will be shared with Koch’s next of kin first, then released to the public once they are complete.
Context From Other Local In-Custody Deaths
Local outlets have previously covered in-custody deaths in St. Tammany Parish that were initially described as medical events while autopsy and lab results were still pending. Reporting by WDSU and WVUE (FOX 8) shows that after an in-custody death, investigators typically review jail surveillance, medical records and intake procedures. Those earlier cases highlight that describing a death as a medical event at the outset does not take the place of a full, independent coroner’s investigation.
What Authorities Say Comes Next
Slidell police say they plan to wait for the coroner's official findings before wrapping up their investigation. The coroner's office has cautioned that toxicology and any outside laboratory testing can slow the final ruling on cause and manner of death. Both agencies say they will provide public updates once the autopsy and related lab work are complete.
