DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of an Army veteran who died in the DeKalb County Jail said they have new video that shows what they’re calling even more negligence that contributed to their loved one’s death.
The family and their attorney have been waiting a year for the sheriff’s office to give them information about what led up to the death of Christon Collins and what happened in the hours after his death.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes that this is still a pending investigation so they’re not commenting at all. The family’s attorney, Ben Crump, is doing his own investigation.
“It doesn’t make sense how he ended up with fentanyl in his system,” Crump said during a Friday afternoon news conference.
Crump said he wanted to make it clear that just because an inmate is charged with the murder of Collins while they were both in the DeKalb County Jail doesn’t mean this is over.
Collins’ loved ones have been waiting a year to find out how fentanyl got inside the jail.
RELATED STORIES:
- Inmate indicted for giving Army vet fentanyl-laced drugs that killed him inside DeKalb County Jail
- Family demands change at DeKalb Co. Jail after inmate’s death
- 27-year-old veteran’s last moments in DeKalb jail: video deepens mystery for family
Now they’re demanding answers by marching and holding a prayer vigil outside the jail before Friday’s news conference.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox still isn’t commenting on the case or providing information.
“We need answers, and they continue to try and dance around and delay and avoid the crux of the matter,” Crump said.
The family has two different autopsy reports for Collins. One said he had fentanyl in his system – and another one said he had no drugs in his system. So the family is questioning the entire investigation.
They also want to know why jail officers didn’t give Collins Narcan, and they say they have new video that shows what happened when jail officers finally noticed he was dead after three-and-a-half hours on the floor.
“He’s handcuffed to the gurney with no pulse, and they took time to stop and handcuff him instead of taking time to render aid. Like Mr. Crump said, if they had taken the same time to give him Narcan we’d be celebrating him being in a rehab or celebrating him at the VA giving him the help he needs,” mother Jonia Milburn said.
Crump said the jail has had the same broken windows since last March, and he said some have strings hanging out where it would be easy to get drugs in the jail.
His goal is to file his lawsuit against the sheriff’s office by April 2.