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Md. Woman Seeks $10M For Jailed Daughter's Suicide

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A Frederick woman is seeking $10 million in damages from Frederick County following her daughter's jailhouse suicide.

Tobie Hosie's lawyer sent a claim notice to county commissioners earlier this month as a precursor to a civil lawsuit.

Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said Thursday that the claim has no merit.

It stems from the Oct. 17 death of Valerie Ann Miller. Authorities say Miller, 40, hanged herself with a bedsheet while being held at the county jail for an alleged probation violation.

The claim states she should have been on suicide watch because she had bipolar disorder, depression and substance-abuse problems.

Jenkins says Miller's psychological evaluation didn't identify her as a suicide risk.

Miller's death was the third suicide at the jail since June 2009.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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