Much suspicion circulated as news spread about the passing of 16-years-young Gynnya McMillen in a juvenile detention center earlier this month.
Reportedly, the African-American girl “was found unresponsive early in the morning of January 11,” on a bed in a “secured room” at the Lincoln Village Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Elizabethtown, Ky., approximately 45 minutes south of Louisville. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
“My 16 yr old sister died in custody of a detention center, but they’re not giving out any info on how she was found and they’re saying (her) autopsy shows no cause of death,” reads a Jan. 15 post on a Facebook page titled, “Justice for Gynnya McMillen.”
An initial autopsy was conducted Jan. 12 by Hardin County Coroner William Lee Jr., who said he saw no “visual bruising, that could conclusively signal a cause of death.” He added that he doubted she had a heart condition, and that “the full results wouldn’t be available for weeks, until after pathology tests were done.”
Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary John Tilley is pushing for those results to “be expedited” spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said.
Reports say police arrived at McMillan’s residence shortly before 2 a.m. Jan. 10, responding to a “domestic incident.” According to Kelly Cable, spokesman for the Shelbyville Police Department, McMillen was the “perpetrator,” and she was charged with misdemeanor assault after the alleged victim incurred “minor injuries.”
Police say a Kentucky court-designated juvenile worker contacted a judge and requested McMillen be detained.
“On face-value, our detectives didn’t suspect that foul play was involved,” says Kentucky state trooper Jeff Gregory. “They interviewed anybody that had any contact with her.” Adding that McMillen had died by the time police arrived at the detention center.
Karen Whaley, a residential counselor for the Louisville, Ky.-based support-services agency, Home of the Innocents, recalled working with McMillen when the girl stayed at the residential facility years ago, saying she was a “quiet, beautiful person.” “Gynnya stayed to herself a whole lot.” Whaley shared. “She didn’t bother anyone, she didn’t disturb anyone and didn’t kick up any fuss.”
Whaley also questioned the mysterious circumstances. “I don’t know how she passed, and that’s the one thing that’s blowing me away,” she said, “that and it being in police custody.”
Local and state officials are investigating.
Reports quote an anonymous source who claims to be a former employee of the juvenile facility as saying that the teen had entered the center less than 24 hours before being found dead. The source said, “If McMillen died in a holding cell, something would be seriously wrong. Holding cells all have cameras, and the children being held in them are supposed to be looked at in 15-minute increments to guarantee their well-being. Furthermore, it is not normal for children to be held in holding cells overnight.”
Nara Goode, who knew McMillen as a small child, said, “I hope they get to the bottom of it. It won’t bring her back, but her family deserves to know.”
