Chad Ray Boggess
Chad Ray Boggess, 27, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, was held at the Boyd County Detention Center in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, in March 2002. Prosecutors say deputy jailers beat him, and he went into a coma and was taken to King's Daughters Medical Center, where he died on April 11, 2002, 26 days later. Commonwealth's Attorney Stewart Schneider says a paramedic who pressed a baton across his throat to restrain him caused the death, and the death certificate, signed by former coroner Mike Neal, lists complications of positional and mechanical asphyxia. The defense disputes the cause of death. In September 2003 a Boyd County grand jury indicted a paramedic and two former deputy jailers, and his aunt Tina Davis, the family spokeswoman, publicly welcomed the indictments.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). Boyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Stewart Schneider and former coroner Mike Neal's death certificate attribute the death to complications of positional and mechanical asphyxia, and the grand jury indicted a paramedic and two former deputy jailers, while the defense disputes the cause of death.
Reported by: Boyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Stewart Schneider (outside investigators); former Boyd County Coroner Mike Neal (medical examiner or coroner); Boyd County grand jury (court).