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Sister: Durham inmate who allegedly committed suicide 'really loved life'

Family and friends of Uniece Fennell, who committed suicide inside a Durham jail cell, gathered Sunday to remember a young woman who was full of life.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Family and friends of Uniece Fennell, who committed suicide inside a Durham jail cell, gathered Sunday to remember a young woman who was full of life.

Authorities said Fennell, 17, was found unresponsive in her cell at the Durham County Detention center at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Fennell was put in the facility on July 26, 2016 after she was arrested and charged with the murder of a 19-year-old Durham man. She was also indicted on Aug. 4, 2016 for discharging a weapon into an occupied residence and discharging a firearm with a pattern of street gang activity.

Fennell’s mother said she spoke with her daughter just hours before she was found dead in her cell and said her daughter was in good spirits. An attorney for the family is now calling for an investigation into the jail.

In the meantime, those who loved Fennell are trying to cope with her death.

“She loved life. She really loved life. Like, no matter what she went through, no matter what, anything, she loved life and she was very loving,” said Fennell’s sister, Tarshella Fountain.

An attorney for Fennell’s family said the family feels like more could have been done to prevent her death.

Fennell’s twin brother was shot and killed in November and relatives said the double loss is heart wrenching for their mother.

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