[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 07/14/20]
TAVARES, Florida — An inmate who was incarcerated at the Lake County Jail was diagnosed with pneumonia last week and died at AdventHealth Waterman Monday night, said Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell.
Virgil Everett Hyde, 39, was awaiting sentencing for murdering Bobbi Wheeler, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his two children at their Groveland home in 2016. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2018.
Hyde was tested in June as part of the jail’s facility-wide testing for COVID-19 and he was negative, Herrell said in an email. Last week, Hyde became sick and was confirmed to have pneumonia on Wednesday. He was given antibiotics and placed in medical isolation at the jail, according to Herrell.
On Thursday, his oxygen levels dropped, and he was transported to AdventHealth Waterman, where he died Monday. His death has not been confirmed as COVID-19, Herrell said. No other inmates are hospitalized at this time, and one detention deputy is in the hospital being treated for COVID-19.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
