Eileen DeNino, a mother of seven, dies of yet unknown causes in jail while serving a 48-hour sentence for her inability to pay a school-related fine. The 55-year old woman was found dead in a Pennsylvania jail over the weekend for not paying her children's truancy school fines amounting to $2,000.
DeNino, 55, was on medication for high blood pressure and other health issues prior to her confinement, but prison officials said no medication was issued for the mother of 7 during her brief time in prison. Investigators further noted that no evidence of foul play was present at the time of her death.
Reading District Judge Wally Scott who presided over one of her truancy cases in the past noted DeNino's joblessness and need for welfare assistance. "She didn't have a job. She was living in a house owned by a family member. She was on welfare. We sat and talked for a long time in my office and I could see that she couldn't pay the fines." DeNino's situation contributed to Judge Scott's decision to clear all charges against her in 2013.
District Judge Dean R. Patton, on the other hand, sentenced the mother of seven to 48 hours in jail after failing to pay her children's truancy fees amounting to $2,000, but what would have been a 45-day sentence was minimized to 48-hours, per Judge Patton's ruling. "I bent over backwards for this woman but I can't just dismiss her cases without justification," Judge Patton adds.
Since 1999, DeNino has incurred a laundry list of unpaid fees and debts and had been cited 55 times; her $2,000 debt is her most recent run-in with the law yet. Pennsylvania police is still investigating the nature surrounding the 55-year old's death.
Eileen DeNino's death puts truancy laws on the spotlight yet again. Since 2000, thousands of people have been indicted for truancy fines with two out of three of those sentenced being mostly middle-age women.
