Husband seeks answers on wife's death inside holding cell

A 43-year-old Mount Vernon mother of eight mysteriously died in police custody Monday — and her heartbroken husband wants to know why.
Herman Turner, 49, waited all day Monday for his wife, Raynette, to be arraigned on a shoplifting charge at the Mount Vernon criminal court.
When she didn't appear, he went home, only to be met by two detectives who broke the bad news: Raynette had died in a holding cell.
"I went blank ... It was a complete shock," Turner said, recalling the horrific news. "She was the best. She was very loving ... She always loved to laugh. She was a fun, happy lady."
Turner said their children — the oldest 21, the youngest just 8 — were "completely distraught."
"I don't know what happened," he said about her death. "They won't give me a time of death ... what happened ... nothing."
His attorney Osvoldo Gonzalez said Raynette had been in custody since Friday because court is not in session in Mount Vernon on the weekends.
Details of her arrest were not available, although a Mount Vernon spokeswoman said it was Raynette’s third shoplifting arrest in recent weeks.
Over the last four days, Raynette —who recently had bariatric surgery and suffered from hypertension, according to officials — repeatedly said she was not feeling well and asked to see a doctor, Gonzalez claimed.
"She was isolated in the police station for four days and was still complaining about needing medical attention and received nothing," he said. "The hospital is directly across the street, but apparently her requests for help were ignored."
Mount Vernon Police Captain Edward Adinaro refuted Gonzalez’s claim and said Raynette received medical care at the hospital across the street on Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m.
She was taken back to her holding cell about 10 p.m. Adinaro said.
Gonzalez questioned the Mount Vernon police’s timeline, and believes she was not given a full checkup.
“That’s amazingly fast for a hospital visit,” he said of the emergency room stay. “Two hours in a hospital is like one minute. Obviously whatever they did, it was not helpful to her.”
On Monday, a cop monitoring the cells saw Raynette alive about an hour before she died, Davis said.
When they found her, she appeared to be sleeping, he said.
A city spokeswoman said an investigation into what transpired was underway. An autopsy was slated to determine what killed Raynette Turner.
Herman Turner said his wife "was as strong as a bull."
"She had no medical issues," he said. "She had a little high blood pressure, but that was it."