SAN ANTONIO – The latest in-custody death at the Bexar County jail has advocates concerned.
“Here we are again every year‚” Lydia Leos, one of the creators of San Antonio Grieving Mothers Fight for Justice, said. “Almost every month, something is happening.”
According to analytics tracked by KSAT Investigates, Tammy Hovland, 59, was the first person to die inside the custody of the Bexar County Adult Detention Center so far in 2026.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said she was being held on low-level misdemeanor charges.
Hovland died last Friday night after spending weeks in the hospital. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide, as she died from blunt force and strangulation injuries.
The sheriff said Hovland was assaulted by her cellmate in early February.
The Texas Rangers are currently investigating what happened. Leos said she hopes transparency will emerge from the investigation.
“I want to know, why did it take so long for them to put it out there that it had happened?” she said.
KSAT has reported on Leos’ story before. Her son, Julian Dena, died in 2020 after overdosing in the Bexar County jail.
KSAT Investigates data shows 18 inmates in total died in the custody of the Bexar County jail in 2023, 13 inmates died in 2024 and 11 inmates died in 2025.
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