A man suspected of killing his daughter’s boyfriend has died after suffering a medical episode at the Lake County Jail.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that 57-year-old James Carlton died Thursday at a local hospital. He suffered a medical episode the previous day and was transported by ambulance from the jail. The sheriff’s office did not have specifics about the cause of death.
An eyewitness saw Carlton shoot Graham near the intersection of Whitney Road and State Road 44 in rural Leesburg. Carlton fled the scene and headed to Marion County. Law enforcement officers from several jurisdictions converged on the County Line Smokehouse and Spirits on County 25 in Weirsdale, where Carlton was placed under arrest.
An affidavit of probable cause was filed last week in Lake County Court.
In the affidavit, a Lake County sheriff’s detective described statements made by Carlton while in custody. When the investigating deputies gave Carlton his Miranda warnings, Carlton responded by stating that he “pled the 5th,” according to the affidavit. The detective stopped the questioning at that point. Carlton then said he warned Graham that he was going to shoot him in the face. Carlton “continued to make comments indicating that he shot the victim due to previous behavior of the victim towards Carlton’s daughter.”
Graham was survived by his two children and his fiancé, Lauren Graham.
