In September 2022, 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson died while in custody at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia. This week, his family spoke out about his passing, claiming he was eaten alive by bed bugs and lice.

Thompson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple battery in June 2022. Three months later, he was dead. “I just got a phone call that [my] brother was found unresponsive,” his sibling, Brad McCrae, told local news station 11 Alive in an article published yesterday (April 13). McCrae noted that upon viewing the body, there was a noticeable change. “He was definitely a heavyset guy and from those pictures, he looks totally different. He’s not the same person,” his brother added. Photos shared by the outlet showed Thompson’s torso covered in bites. “It looks like he wasn’t eating in jail or malnutrition or maybe the bed bugs did it,” McCrae continued.

The news station also reported Thompson was subjected to deplorable living conditions. According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner, the 35-year-old’s official cause of death was “undetermined”; however, the report mentioned a severe bed bug infestation. Thompson’s relatives believe the bites became infected, resulting in cardiac arrhythmia, which ultimately killed him. Michael Harper was hired to legally represent Thompson’s loved ones. They plan to launch their own investigation. “They put that man in that cell and left him there to die,” Harper said.

When asked what the family wants to see happen next, Harper confessed, they are “asking for a criminal investigation and asking for the jail to be shut down.” The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office told 11 Alive they send Thompson’s supporters their condolences. A spokesperson also said, “Immediate action was taken including but not limited to $500,000 to address the infestation of bed bugs, lice, and other vermin, and updating security rounds to include addressing of sanitary conditions.”