Recently released court records show that the two Lincoln Village Regional Juvenile Detention Center staffers involved in the death of 16-year-old Gynnya McMillen lied multiple times about bed checks.
Gynnya was found dead in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky detention center on Jan. 11 in a sleeping position. On Jan. 10, the teen was detained for a domestic dispute.
According to initial reports, the teen may have died from a martial arts move performed by one of the detention center employees. It was later revealed that Gynnya had a heart condition that may have caused her death.
Atlanta Black Star reported in March that officers Reginald Wyndham and Victor Holt were charged with second-degree misconduct for falsifying records regarding bed checks. Since then, the two have been fired from the detention center.
According to Louisville’s WDRB, Windham and Holt “knowingly recorded false information” based on court documents released July 28. On the night of Jan. 10, they falsified room observation forms 15 times, and on the day of her death, they lied 17 times.
Windham and Holt were on different shifts but both were responsible for checking up on the teen every 15 minutes during the roughly 24 hours she was in custody.
The Hardin County Attorney’s office says that the detention center staff was understaffed and male employees could not enter female rooms on their own.
