A 27-year-old Rockdale woman died Thursday after police said she hung herself in the jail holding facility of the police station. Renee Erlinda Serna was pronounced dead at Little River-Rockdale Hospital following the 4:33 p.m. incident, according to police. Police Chief Thomas Harris said the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident and will file a report outlining their conclusions. Harris told The Reporter Serna had been brought to the jail to face charges of theft, failure to identify and evading arrest. He said the woman had been involved in a foot chase with police. ‘10 MINUTES’—Harris said the woman had been placed in the cell at the rear of the police station. “We had talked to her about 10 minutes before this happened,” Harris said. “The judge arrived and we had gone back to see her when this was discovered.” Harris said the woman had used a string from her pajamas to hang herself. CPR—Harris said police immediately began performing CPR and called for an ambulance and the Rockdale Volunteer Fire Department. He said firefighters also performed CPR. An AMR ambulance crew rushed Serna to the hospital with the crew continuing CPR along the way. Serna was pronounced dead at the hospital by Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Andy Isaacs. The jail is located in the rear of the 123-year-old building which was formerly Rockdale’s City Hall. A new, state-of-the art police station, that includes jail cells, is under construction on the other side of West Cameron Avenue (US 79) three blocks from the current facility.
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