911 call reveals moments before Wayne County jail inmate was rushed to hospital

MONTICELLO, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A newly obtained 911 call reveals the moments leading up to a Wayne County Detention Center inmate being rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Kentucky State Police are investigating the death of 40-year-old Elisha John Turpin.

LEX News obtained the emergency call through an open records request to Monticello-Wayne County E-911. In the recording, a woman who identifies herself as a detention center deputy asks for emergency responders to be sent to the jail.

“We've got one that's, uh, blue, and he's got a faint heartbeat,” she tells the dispatcher.

When asked what happened, the deputy says she wasn't sure how much information she was allowed to provide. She then tells the dispatcher that jail personnel had Turpin under surveillance or observation. As the call continues, Turpin's condition appears increasingly urgent.

“They just said that you need to hurry,” the deputy tells the dispatcher after checking with others at the jail.

The dispatcher asks whether Turpin is still breathing. Someone in the background reports that he is “barely breathing” and has a “faint pulse.” The dispatcher then asks whether jail personnel are performing CPR.

“No, not yet, no,” someone responds.

The recording indicates, however, that jail staff believed Turpin still had a pulse and was breathing at that point. The call does not establish whether CPR was medically indicated or whether it was later performed. The dispatcher tells the caller that emergency responders had been paged and were on their way.

Wayne County Coroner Gordon Hicks previously told LEX News that Turpin collapsed while in custody and was taken to Wayne County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning, Oct. 13. Turpin's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort for an autopsy. The results are pending. KSP Post 11 Trooper Corey Jones confirmed that a detective is investigating to determine what caused Turpin's death.

The newly obtained call raises additional questions about what happened before the medical emergency. At one point, a detention center deputy tells the dispatcher that jail staff had been observing Turpin on surveillance. The recording does not make clear why he was being monitored or what jail employees observed before his condition deteriorated.

LEX News has reached out to the Wayne County Detention Center for additional information, including what happened before the 911 call and what medical response jail staff provided.

We were told our request had been sent to the detention center's attorney and that someone would be in contact.

Court records previously reviewed by LEX News show Turpin had been indicted by a Wayne County grand jury in January on several charges stemming from an alleged December 2025 incident, including fleeing or evading police, wanton endangerment of a police officer and drug trafficking. An indictment is an accusation, and the charges had not been proven in court.

Turpin's obituary identifies him as Elisha John Riddle Turpin of Monticello. It says he was born Feb. 23, 1986, was a member of Fall Creek Baptist Church and is survived by his father, sister and other relatives. Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16, at Hicks-Vaughn Funeral Home in Monticello, followed by burial at Blevins Cemetery.

Kentucky State Police's investigation remains ongoing.

LEX News will update this story as additional information becomes available.

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