MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The family of a manslaughter suspect who died in custody about two years ago is now suing Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, according to court records filed Monday.
The lawsuit says the suspect — Cory Merchant, 35 — was an inmate at the Marion County Jail in November 2021. He was being held on charges of lewd battery and unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
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During this time, fellow inmate Eric Lutterloah struck Merchant several times, causing him to fall, hit his head on the concrete and bleed out on the floor, court documents read. Merchant died about six days later.
According to the lawsuit, Lutterloah was a violent offender who had already been in another fight a week earlier, and within two months of Merchant’s death, he beat another inmate to the point he had to use a feeding tube.
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“At the time of Cory Merchant’s death, the Marion County Jail, particularly Gulf Pod, was an extremely violent jail in which fights, assaults, and batteries were frequent and often resulted in injury to other inmates,” the lawsuit reads. “The Marion County Sheriff’s Office maintains a widespread custom of failing to prevent and intervene in violent altercations between inmates and failing to discipline inmates who commit assault and battery in the jail.”
The lawsuit claims that Merchant was a “docile inmate,” never starting a fight with other inmates and frequently attending Bible studies.
Additionally, the lawsuit points out several other instances of violent fights and attacks that took place in the jail in the months leading to Merchant’s death.
As such, the lawsuit accuses Woods and three other deputies of negligence and wrongful death over their alleged roles in Merchant’s death.
Merchant’s family members are seeking damages under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, which allows surviving family members to recover earnings or expenses associated with a wrongful death.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office provided the following statement to News 6 in response to the lawsuit.
We are aware of the allegations contained in this lawsuit and are looking forward to addressing them in a court of law. Ultimately, the person responsible for Cory Merchant’s death is Eric Lutterloah, who we arrested for manslaughter in connection with Merchant’s death. It is disingenuous to blame our jail staff for failing to prevent Lutterloah from punching Merchant three times during an altercation that lasted a matter of seconds.
General Counsel Timothy T. McCourt, Marion County Sheriff's Office
The full lawsuit has been attached and can be read in the media viewer below.
Marion Co Lawsuit by Anthony Talcott on Scribd
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