10 years after Morgan Angerbauer’s in-custody death, family fights for jail reforms
By KTBS Staff
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TEXARKANA, Texas (KTBS) — It’s been 10 years since Morgan Angerbauer died in Bi-State Jail custody under medical distress.
Her Texarkana family says they’ve spent the last decade fighting for jail reform and they’ll never stop.
“It’s as fresh in my mind as the day it happened,” said Andy Houser, Morgan Angerbauer’s father.
Andy Houser and Jennifer Creamer say they’ll never forget July 1, 2016 when they received the call that their daughter Morgan Angerbauer, 20, had died in jail from complications of her diabetes.
Each year, the family releases balloons in her memory.
“I wake up with her on my mind. I go to sleep with her on my mind. It’s a certain smell, a certain sound, a certain song, countless times a day I think of her,” said Creamer.
Houser says negligence led to his daughter’s death. He says a nurse and jail staff refused to treat Angerbauer despite knowing she was diabetic.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that had everybody known what they were supposed to do, Morgan would still be here right now,” said Houser.
Privately-owned LaSalle Corrections managed the jail then. A wrongful death suit was settled against the company in 2020.
KTBS 3 News spoke with the family at the courthouse just as their fight to improve jail standards was beginning.
“Things need to change in all jails ran by for-profit companies. I’m not done yet. I want to get laws passed and make sure these inmates are taken care of,” said Creamer then.
The family testified before Texas lawmakers about the need for correctional officers to be medically certified before starting the job.
“I think she would be proud of everything her mother has accomplished, making the changes at Bi-State, you don’t hear about a lot of folks dying in Bi-State like you did right before Morgan passed,” said Houser.
Creamer says the Bi-State Jail now requires staff to scan identification bracelets during routine welfare checks.
“So, these people in medical, there’s no longer, ‘I did 30-minute checks and this person hasn’t been checked on in 13 hours.’ So, it has made a big difference,” said Creamer.
Creamer says the changes are a good, but there’s more work to be done.
“There’s always room for change, always. Especially when things like this are happening. Because mothers, uncles, grandmothers, whoever does not need to have to come do this when it’s so senseless,” Creamer.
The Bowie County Sheriff’s Office has managed the Bi-State Jail since 2021. LaSalle Corrections managed the facility for 8 years before that.
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