Nurse Charged With Inmate’s Death Remains Free Between Court Appearances
Beltrami County, MN — Despite being recently charged with three felonies for her role in the 2018 in-custody death of Hardel Sherrell, Michelle Skroch remains free until her next court appearance with no bail needed unless she violates her terms of release. Skroch is the first medical provider in the state of Minnesota to ever be charged with an inmate’s death.
Sherrell, a Black 27-year-old father of three, died in September 2018 on the floor of a Beltrami County Jail cell due to complications from an undiagnosed Guillain-Barré syndrome as nurses declined to treat him and claimed he was faking.
Charged with second degree manslaughter and two felony counts of criminal neglect, the 37-year-old Skroch appeared next to her attorney Tyler Bliss at her first court date, a remote hearing on April 11, 2025 in front of Judge John Melbye, a Ninth Judicial District Court judge for Beltrami County. Representing the state was Zuri Balmakund, Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Criminal Division — the attorney general’s office filed the charges against Skroch on March 7, 2025.
Nursing Director Charged For 2018 Jail Death of Hardel Sherrell
The state called for $200,000 bail and no contact with Sherrell’s family, her former workmates at MEnD Correctional Care, or Sanford Health, along with an order to not provide nursing care of any kind.
The defense said Skroch has known for six years that these charges could come and standard release conditions don’t apply to her because she doesn’t do drugs or own firearms. They called for her release or $50,000 bail and for her to be booked in at Morrison County Jail rather than Beltrami County Jail, where she’s alleged to have medically neglected Sherrell.
Judge Melbye ordered that Skroch remains free, having to post $200,000 bail only if conditions are broken. Skroch was also ordered to contact Beltrami County Jail to set up the pretrial supervision and the booking process. Skroch’s next appearance is May 12 at 10 a.m. in front of Judge Jeanine Brand.
Skroch’s charges come from when she worked with the now-bankrupt and shuttered MEnD Correctional Care, which provided healthcare to over 9,600 inmates across multiple states in the Midwest. Skroch was romantically involved with MEnD’s founder, Dr. Todd Leonard, who is nicknamed ‘Dr. Death’ for his role in overseeing the death of more than two dozen inmates over a six year period.
A few days after the charges were filed, Sherrell’s family and legal team held a press conference to speak on the case. At the press event, they thanked Attorney General Keith Ellison for pressing the charges and called for more charges to be filed against others who medically neglected Sherrell.
Hardel Sherrell’s torturous death from eight days of medical neglect was first published by Unicorn Riot. Sherrell’s mother Del Shea Perry has spent the last seven years fighting for accountability for her son’s death and change within the jails and prisons.
Perry built a nonprofit called Be Their Voices that helped dozens of families dealing with jail deaths while leading the movement to get justice for her only son.
In 2021, the Hardel Sherrell Act was passed at the Minnesota Legislature to give the MN Department of Corrections greater oversight of county jails, especially over medical care. In 2022, MEnD Correctional Care was forced to close after going bankrupt. The next year, Beltrami County and MEnD Correctional Care were ordered to pay $2.6 million to Sherrell’s family. Her story is featured in the film MAMA!.
See Unicorn Riot’s coverage of Hardel Sherrell and his mother Del Shea:
Nursing Director Charged For 2018 Jail Death of Hardel Sherrell – March 2025
Be Their Voices Presser: ‘No More Jail Deaths!’ – October 2023
Owner of MEnD Correctional Care Loses License Over In-Custody Death of Hardel Sherrell – March 2022
Demanding the Passage of the Hardel Sherrell Act – May 2021
Whistleblowing RN Complaint Revealed Two Years After Death of Inmate – September 2020
Two Years Later: Protest at MN-BCA Seeks Justice for Hardel Sherrell – September 2020
Gross Violations Found in DOC Review of Inmate’s Death at Beltrami County Jail – May 2020
Harrowing Footage Shows Man’s Last Days Before Dying in Jail – November 2019
Cover image via Niko Georgiades for Unicorn Riot.
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