Body Of GA Woman Found Decayed In Prison Cell: Reports

ALTO, GA — A woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and six months later, her body was found decomposing in a 90-degree prison cell in Georgia, media outlets reported this week.

The body of Sheqweetta Vaughan, 32, was found on July 9 in her cell in the solitary confinement unit at Lee Arrendale State Prison, where she began serving a two-year sentence for homicide by vehicle shortly before giving birth in January, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.

Habersham County Deputy Coroner Kenneth Franklin wrote in his report that Vaughan's body was found on the prison floor and a "strong odor of decay" was detected, the AJC reported.

Ventilation was minimal in her 90-degree prison cell, Franklin reportedly wrote, adding there were no trauma signs or contraband evidence.

Per WXIA-TV on Tuesday, Franklin reported prison workers indicated they found Vaughan dead at 10:45 a.m. after checking on her at 10:08 a.m. Nearly two hours later, Franklin arrived on scene, the TV news outlet reported.

Vaughan had been dead for at least two to four hours, though Franklin said "it's difficult to know for sure," WXIA reported.

Protocol with the Georgia Department of Corrections is for staff to check on inmates in solitary confinement every 30 minutes, but it was not immediately clear if the checks were performed the morning Vaughan died.

Vaughan, a Jonesboro resident, was sentenced to prison after a crash killed her 3-year-old son and injured her 8-year-old son in December 2020 on Interstate 285 south near Campbellton Road, the AJC reported. The deadly crash reportedly happened two weeks after Vaughan's mother died.

She began her prison sentence on Dec. 18, 2024 after entering a non-negotiated plea deal, the AJC reported.

"Sheqweetta Vaughan had a two-year sentence; she fully expected to come home, and she won't get that opportunity," Amy Ard, the executive director of Motherhood Beyond Bars told WXIA-TV.

Vaughan participated in a childbirth education class hosted by Motherhood Beyond Bars, the news outlet reported.

"This is someone who was in a vulnerable postpartum period," Ard said in the report. "We know that she had some mental health diagnoses. This is a person who should not be put in solitary confinement, and the conditions of that solitary confinement were fairly inhumane. It was way too hot for anyone, postpartum or not, to be in a unit where there's no airflow, no air conditioning, no air flow, in Georgia in the summertime."

According to a death notice from Dortch-Williamson Funeral and Cremation Services, a memorial was held for Vaughan on July 21 in Riverdale.

The GDC has not publicly commented on the incident.