Teen murder suspect found dead despite 24-hour video surveillance

Jessica Cheyenne Nichols faced charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon

Jessica Cheyenne Nichols ( )

A 19-year-old woman accused of murder was found dead in a 24-hour observance room being shared with another woman, according to authorities.

Jessica Cheyenne Nichols, of North Carolina, was found unresponsive by detention staff at the daily wake-up time of 4.40am, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell told The Statesville Record & Landmark.

He said a review of surveillance footage from the observance room found no incident between Ms Nichols and jail staff at any point, adding that she went to sleep about 11pm the night prior.

Emergency officials and the jail nurse attempted CPR but were unable to revive Ms Nichols.

She has been held in custody since her arrest in August over the death of Jacob Dean Koury, 23.

She was charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon along with co-defendant James Samuel Jones Jr, 34. A third suspect, a 16-year-old man, was also arrested in connection to the death.

Mr Koury was found dead on 11 August after police responded to reports of a shooting in Magla Park, Mooresville, about 40 minutes north of Charlotte.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is probing the cause of death.

“The SBI investigation remains ongoing,” spokesperson Anjanette Grube told Law&Crime in an email.