Family seeks justice for son whose body returned without a brain, heart and throat after he died mysteriously in jail
The family of an inmate, Everett Palmer Jr, who died under mysterious circumstances in prison are demanding answers as to why his body was returned without a brain, heart, and throat.
The 41-year-old Palmer Jr. was pronounced dead on April 9 last year after he was taken to the York County Prison in Pennsylvania and held in jail for a charge of driving under the influence. The family had hired a pathologist after he died who reportedly claimed that Palmer Jr.'s death needed to be treated as a homicide. His body had been allegedly badly bruised and his brain, heart, and throat were missing, which could have been due to the autopsy.
A coroner had earlier said that that the father-of-two had become "agitated and began hitting his head against his cell door." However, his mother Rose Palmer disputed these claims and said that her "son was a perfectly healthy young man" and would never do something like that.
The former Army paratrooper and personal trainer's cause of death had been listed as "complications following an excited state, associated with methamphetamine toxicity, during physical restraint." A year after his death, his family members are still looking for answers and do not understand how Palmer Jr. could have possibly taken the drug while he was in jail. His brother Dwayne Palmer told Spectrum News NY1, "We want to understand what happened."
Dr. Zhonxue Hua had shared that the injuries are not consistent with suicide but could not make any conclusions without the organs, the York Daily Record shared. Dwayne shared, "When we reached out to find out what happened to his organs, they initially lied. They directed us back to our funeral director and told us that we need to confer with them because they probably took the organs."
Lawyers John Coyle and Daniel Purtell released a statement and said, "At this time we are respecting the criminal investigative process in hopes that the Palmer family’s questions will be answered and those accountable will be brought to justice. That said, given the extended amount of time that has passed, the Palmer family grows increasingly eager to find answers. We remain prepared to pursue this matter through all available legal channels."