2 January 2024
Authorities are investigating an inmate’s death at the Washington County Jail in Stillwater.
Justice Heinrichs (Courtesy of Destine Fobbs)
Justice Heinrichs, 21, of Stillwater, was found unresponsive and not breathing in her assigned, double-occupancy cell at about 12:40 a.m. Friday morning, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. She was the only inmate assigned to the cell, authorities said.
Lifesaving measures were immediately initiated by jail staff until responders from the Lakeview EMS and Stillwater Fire Department took over, said Laura Perkins, a spokeswoman for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Heinrich was brought to to the Washington County Jail on Dec. 20 from the St. Paul Police Department, according to her booking report. She was arrested on a warrant from the Bayport Police Department for fifth-degree possession of marijuana, her booking report states.
The circumstances surrounding Heinrich’s death are not being released, as the incident remains under investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, Perkins said.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office has conducted an autopsy, but results are not being released pending investigation, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said Tuesday.
Heinrichs’ parents, Destine Fobbs and Karl Heinrichs, said they are looking for answers as to what happened at the jail.
“How? Why? How could this happen?” said Fobbs, who lives in Baldwin, Wis. “I left my baby there because I thought she was safe. They won’t tell me anything. I just want some answers. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Said Karl Heinrichs: “We’re pursuing justice for Justice. There is an investigation, and we want answers.”
Justice Heinrichs, who graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 2020, loved to draw and loved her sisters, Fobbs said.
“She was an artist,” Fobbs said. “She was so very good. She loved to draw everything – portraits, landscapes, you name it. She was so smart — like genius-level smart — she just didn’t know how to use it.”
Heinrichs had struggled with drug addiction and had been to jail multiple times in the last year, her parents said.
Karl Heinrichs, of Stillwater, is a Minnesota Vikings superfan known as “Sir Death.” He is one of the oldest members of the Viking World Order fan club and has more than 22,000 followers on Facebook.
Karl Heinrichs of Stillwater poses with his daughter, Justice, at a Minnesota Vikings game in 2012. (Courtesy of Karl Heinrichs)
“Justice was my whole reason for being and my whole purpose in my life,” he said Tuesday. “She was the greatest thing I ever did with my life.”
On gamedays, Heinrichs wears a customized purple belt with “Sir Death” written on it and a helmet with horns from a ram and tusks from a warthog. His body is covered with $50,000 worth of Vikings tattoos, he said.
“Today I did what I believe to be the worst thing anyone could ever have to do: Say goodbye to their child,” Heinrichs wrote on the “Sir Death” Facebook page on Monday. “All I want to do to start this year is celebrate the most important person I ever had in my life through these pictures. My heart is so broken and traumatized. After today, I know I will never be the same. All I can do is honor and cherish her memory until I can join her. Skol baby girl. I love you more than anything in the world, Justice. Rest in peace.”
Justice Heinrichs is survived by her parents and two sisters, Aaliyah Fobbs and Khia Gray.
Friends have started an online GoFundMe fundraising page to help defray funeral expenses.
A private funeral service is planned. Bradshaw Funeral Home in Stillwater is handling arrangements.
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