Listen Live
97.9 The Beat Featured Video
CLOSE

Symone Nicole Marshall, 22, recently moved to Walker County, Texas with the hope of starting a new life with her three-year-old daughter. But on May 10, Marshall died in police custody. Now, her family is demanding answers about what happened while she was under the care of law enforcement, a scenario that is becoming all too common amongst African-American families.

The incident began when Marshall and an unnamed female passenger were involved in a single vehicle accident in late April. According to KHOU, officials evaluated Marshall and her friend, but found no harmful injuries. Police arrested both women on possession of cocaine and misdemeanor and felony charges.

Marshall allegedly provided false identification.

A day later, the unidentified friend was released after posting bail, but Marshall was unable to pay her $5,000 bond and spent two more weeks in jail. Her sisters spoke with KHOU and claimed that Marshall complained of headaches and feared blacking out. They reported Marshall’s discomfort to the Walker County Jail and insisted that she receive medical attention, the report notes.

“They told me she’s seen the doctor at the jail…I told them she needs to go to a real hospital,” sister Honey Marshall told KHOU.

On May 10, Marshall was rushed to Huntsville Memorial Hospital after suffering a seizure. She was pronounced dead soon after. An autopsy was performed by the Harris County Medical examiner, and the sheriff’s department is investigating protocol, according to KHOU. Results from the autopsy haven’t been released.

“Even though we feel pretty comfortable, we’re going to look at it from all angles,” Sheriff Clint McRae said to KHOU. “We’re a very transparent department. We want to know exactly what happened so we can go home and sleep at night.”

Since news broke of Marshall’s death, Twitter has memorialized her name with the hashtag #SymoneMarshall, sometimes linking it with #sayhername, a previous hashtag used to garner awareness for other young Black unarmed women who died in police custody like Sandra Bland, Gynnya McMillen, Kindra Chapman and Ralkina Jones.

Honey Marshall started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her sister’s funeral. To date, they’ve exceeded their goal of $5,500, raising over $6,500.

SOURCES: KHOU | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter

SEE ALSO:

WATCH: Sandra Bland’s Mom Delivers Powerful Speech To Congressional Leaders

NEWS ROUNDUP: Issues Found With Texas Jail Where Sandra Bland Died…AND MORE

Family Demands Answers After 22-Year-Old Mother Dies In Texas Police Custody  was originally published on newsone.com