Brother Doubts Claim Teenage Sister Died In Detention From ‘Rare’ Heart Disease

By J.A. Salaam -Staff Writer- | Last updated: Mar 30, 2016 - 9:50:09 AM

Gynnya McMillen

Authorities investigating the death of 16-year-old Gynnya McMillen at the Lincoln Village Juvenile Detention Center have determined she died of sudden cardiac arrhythmia—an irregular heartbeat. The official account of the death was released during a news conference in Frankford, Ky., conducted by Kentucky Justice Secretary John Tilley and Dr. Donna Stewart of the state medical examiner’s office.

Dr. Stewart said the Mayo Clinic medical laboratory’s autopsy report concluded Gynnya had evidence of a rare condition known as Inherited Long QT Syndrome that can cause irregular heart rhythms. A video of the March 16 press conference was made available online for viewing. Dr. Stewart said there was 11 other pathologists that confirmed the findings.

On Jan. 11 Gynnya was found dead in her cell at the Lincoln Village Juvenile Detention Center in Elizabethtown, Ky. She was transported there after her mother called police because of a physical altercation between the two. About 24 hours later the teen was nonresponsive and pronounced dead in the detention center. This had been the first time Gynnya had ever been locked up in a correctional facility. Since her death, several state employees have been fired or resigned.

The unusual circumstances surrounding her death raised questions. Family and friends waited patiently over nine weeks to hear the cause of her untimely death. Though officials say her death was from a rare disease and not the result of physical trauma, many question that finding. According to an early CBS News report, Gynnya was brought to the ground by detention staffers using an “Aikido restraint,” held for four minutes and 15 seconds and officers patted her down. Officials said the initial restraint was recorded, but Gynnya was brought down behind a counter, which obscured the camera’s view of her on the ground. Employees could be seen on camera during that time, officials said

Gynnya’s brother Gregory Mitchel is not settling for the stories being presented. “S--t ain’t adding up. I have never heard my daddy or Gynnya mother say she ever had a bad heart. I’m going to get tested for my heart the end of March. I’m pissed the f—k off and not believing or running with these stories,” he told The Final Call.

Barney Kinman, the director of the Justice Cabinet’s Internal Investigations Branch, said another camera that normally would have provided a more direct recording of the January restraint was reported broken earlier that week. Mr. Tilley said the restraint was “given special scrutiny and investigators have all found that it played absolutely no role in her death.”

The actual martial arts maneuver used on Gynnya has not been fully disclosed, but in law enforcement a lateral vascular neck restraint is often used. This type of restraint is used to force an uncooperative subject to submit without causing death or permanent injury. But it is vital to distinguish between air and blood chokes. A hold that simultaneously blocks both the left and right carotid arteries results in cerebral ischemia and loss of consciousness within seconds. If properly applied, the hold produces almost immediate cessation of resistance. However to avoid serious injury the hold cannot be maintained more than a few seconds.

For Gynnya’s brother there are still questions: Is it normal for someone with an irregular heartbeat, who is otherwise healthy, to suddenly die from it? Did her being locked up for a first offense have anything to do with the death or perhaps stress related to the death? What escalated conditions that resulted in her death? What was different about that fatal night versus the previous days, nights, months and years of her life? What actually killed Gynnya?

The autopsy noted there was no controlled substance or alcohol in her system that could have contributed to her death.

“We still haven’t seen the videotapes, and they trying to keep us from it. We have a petition with over 130,000 signatures online to get the governor to make them release it to us. A woman with the Color of Change group is helping us get the word out. All we want is to see everything on the tapes before they cut it up like they did with Sandra Bland. We should get another autopsy because what they saying don’t make no sense,” said Mr. Mitchel.

The Final Call