Autopsy report for teenager who died after incident at youth villages

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The autopsy report on the death of a teenager at a Bartlett Youth Village facility lists the cause of death as complications from restraint, but the manner of death as unknown.

The autopsy report obtained by ABC24 from the state of Tennessee lists asthma as one of the causes of 17-year-old Robshekaneciona Alegend Jones’ death in the institution.

Youth Villages claims that the coroner’s report into the death, following an incident in November 2023, shows that “there was no abuse or intentional physical harm by our staff.”

This all happened after the Jones family and their lawyer Ben Crump made allegations of abuse.

Bartlett police said Jones died after being hospitalized on Thursday, November 16, 2023, following a “reported incident” at 7386 Memphis-Arlington, the location of Youth Villages’ Bartlett campus.

Youth Villages claims there are “countless false, damaging and reckless allegations made by individuals, repeated by the media and on social media against Youth Villages and our staff.” The organization published a summary of what it considers to be unfounded allegations compared to the alleged “facts.”

“The video of the confrontation with staff shows the deceased seemingly breaking free from a staff member and then being grabbed and restrained by several staff members,” the autopsy report states. “The group moves just out of the camera’s main field of view, where they continue to restrain her. During the duration of the restraint, several staff members take turns in and out of the restraining group, and the deceased can be seen moving.”

“After some time, the deceased stops moving and the staff seem to realise that they need to guide her. When they try to get her to stand up, she seems to need assistance. At this point, they lay her on her back and she becomes unresponsive. They then start CPR and call the emergency services.”

The autopsy report indicates that the training materials reviewed include protocols for the presence of a nurse during restraints, a section on positional asphyxia, and explain how caution should be used when using any restraint to prevent restraint-related deaths, which are often attributed to positional asphyxia.

“The cause of death is suspected to be positional asphyxia due to restraint, with asthma playing a role,” the autopsy report states. “Positional asphyxia occurs when a person’s body is placed in a position where their breathing is compromised. However, since we do not know their exact position during restraint, this cannot be said with certainty.”

During a December news conference, Jones’ mother and attorney Ben Crump said they had seen video clips of the incident that they believe led to Jones’ death. Crump said the video shows caregivers restraining Jones at the Shelby County Health Department.

Crump claimed that the conduct of Youth Villages staff led to the teenager’s death and that less than an hour after his return to Youth Villages, paramedics were called because Jones had lost consciousness.

Crump said Jones was attacked, beaten and choked. He presented medical records claiming Jones suffered brain compression, among other injuries such as cerebral edema and rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition commonly seen in people who have suffered serious injury or trauma, although the condition can have other causes.

“During a medical examination at the health department, a physical altercation reportedly occurred with the deceased, after which she was detained by youth village staff and the police were called,” the autopsy report states. “She was then returned to the youth village facility by police. Upon her return to the youth village facility, another physical altercation reportedly occurred and the deceased was detained by staff until she was unresponsive.”

In its statement on the autopsy report, Youth Villages said: “At our residential sites, we serve youth who are struggling with the most difficult and challenging issues. Therapeutic holds are only used when necessary to help young people calm down and regulate their behavior. Alegend was placed in a hold for her own safety and the safety of our staff and only after repeated outbursts of violence. Our team followed its training and all safety protocols and procedures. Medical personnel were present. The witness statements and video support this.”

“The physical stress of being bound could certainly have triggered asthma, which made it even more difficult for her to breathe,” the autopsy report states. “The cause of death cannot be determined because it is not known what actually happened during the binding. However, it can be said that she was breathing before being bound and had no physical complaints, and was unresponsive after being bound.”

“Therefore, based on all currently known investigative information, the autopsy examination, the toxicology analysis and the circumstances surrounding and leading to the death, the cause of death is attributed to complications from restraint, with asthma as a contributing factor. The manner of death is undetermined.”

Youth Villages’ detailed statement on the incident can be found HERE.