Marvin Walker
Marvin Walker, 28, was held at the St. Bernard Parish jail in Chalmette, Louisiana. Accounts give different dates of death, December 2, 2019 and January 2, 2020, and the coroner's report and the family's lawsuit use January 2. His family, including his parents, brought a federal lawsuit through a civil rights lawyer, saying he suffered worsening drug withdrawal, vomited and lost control of his bowels, and was not taken to a hospital for five days. The lawsuit says he was found unable to move on the morning of January 2 and was dead when he reached the hospital. The coroner listed the cause of death as undetermined, and the sheriff's office said autopsy and toxicology results were pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner listed the cause as undetermined, while Marvin Walker's family's federal lawsuit says jail staff left him to worsen in drug withdrawal and did not take him to a hospital for five days, and says medical providers did not properly treat his withdrawal.
Reported by: St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Coroner's report (medical examiner or coroner); his family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit alleging that medical providers failed to properly treat his drug withdrawal at the St. Bernard Parish Jail.
News reports (4)
- One inmate dead from St Bernard Parish Prison, cause unknown
- Death of St. Bernard jail inmate under investigation, authorities say
- St. Bernard jail guard admits she lied to FBI agents about inmate's death, faces up to 5 years
- 5 years after negligent inmate death, St. Bernard Parish Jail faces two more lawsuits