Investigators identify employee who died in a state office building stairway

Maryland State Police have identified a woman who died earlier this month in a state government office building.

Ron Snyder, a spokesperson for the Maryland State Police, said the investigation continues into the death of Janai White, an employee of the Department of General Services.

White, 36 of Baltimore County, was discovered Feb. 9 in a stairway inside the Attman-Glazer building at 45 Calvert St. in Annapolis.

A cause of death has not yet been released. Foul play is not suspected, according to Snyder.

State officials so far have answered few questions about White’s death.

An online obituary for White notes that she died on Feb. 8.

Police and emergency medical services were called to the office building at midday on Feb. 9. In an email, Snyder confirmed that White’s body was found in the stairwell by a state employee.

So far, there has been no explanation of the time lag between White’s death and the discovery of her body.

Snyder, in an email to Maryland Matters, confirmed the presence of at least one security camera in the stairway.

It is not known if the camera was operational at the time of White’s death.

So far, officials at the Department of General Services have declined to answer questions about White’s death, including how it could have occurred without being seen by building security.

The building where the incident occurred is about three blocks from the Maryland State House and is closer to a handful of other state and Anne Arundel County government buildings. It is home to the Maryland Office of Budget and Management, including the office suite used by Budget Secretary Helene Grady.

Also in the building is the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, the agency created last year by Gov. Wes Moore (D) to lead his signature service program; the offices of the Maryland State Ethics Commission; Assessment and Taxation for Anne Arundel County; and the Public Employee Relations Board. More than a dozen state agencies also have satellite or legislative offices in the basement of the building.

In an email sent to Department of General Services employees on the day of the incident, Secretary Atif Chaudhry announced the death of the state worker but did not name her.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share this news,” Chaudhry wrote. “As any information pertinent to you all becomes available, we will be sure to share it.”

The email contained no additional details. It referred state employees to crisis services through Anne Arundel County, the state’s Employee Assistance Program and the 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline, which offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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