Second Inmate Found Dead in Hernando County Jail This Year

BROOKSVILLE – For the second time in two months the Hernando County Sheriff's Office is reporting the death of an inmate at the Hernando County Jail.

Around 3:54 a.m. this morning, officials say deputies were making rounds at the Hernando County Detention Center, when they discovered an unresponsive male inmate inside his cell.

Medical staff inside the facility responded to the inmate's cell and began performing lifesaving measures. Fire Rescue arrived on scene and pronounced the inmate deceased at 4:07 a.m.

Officials have identified the deceased as 55-year-old Joseph Frederick Auche who was arrested on May 26th for murdering his girlfriend at her home on Alliance Ave.

Officials say deputies didn't notice anything out of the ordinary prior to Auche's death.

Officials have not provided any information on what may have led to Auche's death. His body has been sent to the Medical Examiner's Office, where an autopsy will be performed.

On April 15th of this year, 49-year-old Timothy Peters was found unresponsive inside the Hernando County Detention Center and rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died.

R News was contacted by a nurse at Bravera Health Brooksville, who claimed that Peters appeared to be beaten to death. The nurse, who wished to remain anonymous, said Peter's trachea appeared to be crushed when she examined him.

R News contacted the Medical Examiner's Office for the results of Peter's autopsy, but officials advised that his case had been taken over by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for further investigation. The FDLE usually investigates law enforcement officers to rule out suspected wrongdoing.

We will bring more on this story as it develops.