Findings inconclusive in Everett Palmer Jr. death at midstate Prison

(York) — Hitting his head against his cell door was not determined to be a cause of death for a man who died while in custody at York County Prison in April, the York County coroner said Saturday after the release of the forensic pathologist’s findings.

Everett Palmer Jr., 41, of Seaford, Delaware, was pronounced dead at 5:46 a.m. on April 9 at York Hospital.

Coroner Pam Gay listed the cause of death in the updated autopsy released Saturday as “complications following an excited state, associated with methamphetamine toxicity, during physical restraint.”

A contributory factor, Gay concluded, was probable sickling red cell disorder.

The manner of death was undetermined.

Reached later, Gay said there are five manners of death that can be cited: accident, suicide, homicide, natural, undetermined.

Despite the initial autopsy from April saying Palmer “became agitated and began hitting his head against the inside of his cell door,” there was no ruling of suicide. Gay said this case “does not have a clear classification one way or another.”

The investigation by Pennsylvania State Police is ongoing, which “leaves open the possibility that something becomes more clear down the road, at which point [the manner of death] will be changed,” she said.

“In this particular case, with health factors contributing, toxicology factors, physical restraints in prison, it all combined to make it difficult to have a clear-cut manner [of death],” Gay said.

Palmer’s family, through their attorney, Marlon Kirton, thanked the York County coroner’s office and Gay specifically for reaching out directly to the family. But they remain unsatisfied, he said.

Palmer had been in custody in April at York County Prison for about two days on a DUI charge.

He had previously been involved in a single-vehicle crash in Codorus Township on Oct. 28, 2016, and was flown to York Hospital, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Emergency responders smelled alcohol on him, and tests revealed a BAC of 0.148. The legal limit is .08 percent.

Palmer’s brother, Dwayne, said Everett learned of an outstanding warrant after he moved to Delaware. So in April he traveled to Lancaster County to inquire about it. It was unknown why he went to Lancaster County, but he was arrested and taken to York County Prison.

How he ended up in an “excited state, associated with methamphetamine toxicity” is unknown, said Gay. “That’s another reason [manner of death] is undetermined,” she said. “We have no understanding how that occurred.”

Pennsylvania State Police, leading the ongoing investigation, did not immediately return a voicemail left on Saturday afternoon.

Both York County spokesman Mark Walters and York County Board of Commissioners member Chris Reilly declined comment Saturday, citing the ongoing investigation by PSP. 

Family members never heard from him once he was in custody. They only received a phone call informing them of his death, they said.

The autopsy was conducted on April 10 at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.

The coroner’s office said recently it was awaiting the forensic pathologist’s findings, which took longer than the 90 days the family said they were initially told.

Gay said earlier it’s not unusual for full results to take more than 90 days when there’s multiple testing of tissues and organs.

Palmer’s family never believed that Everett died as a result of hitting his own head against the inside of his cell door around 4:20 a.m. April 9. They’ve suggested it’s much more sinister.

Prison officials first took Palmer to the prison’s medical clinic before he became unresponsive and was transported to York Hospital.

Family members and supporters of Palmer gathered Monday of this week outside the York County Judicial Center to seek answers about the circumstances of his death.

“Unfortunately, in this country, many unarmed African-American men and women end up killed in the hands of law enforcement,” Kirton said at Monday’s news conference.

“We think that’s exactly what happened here.”

The family has hired its own forensic pathologist, Dr. Zhongxue Hua, who has stated the injuries are not consistent with suicide but that he cannot conclude his own investigation without the organs.

They’ve questioned how some of Everett’s organs, including his brain and heart, were removed without notification and were not yet returned as of Monday.

“There is no cause of death, no video support and no detail as to the manner used to restrain Mr. Palmer,” Kirton said in an email to the York Daily Record Saturday.

“We still don’t know why he died.”

The Palmers will push to have another autopsy performed, he said, and continue to call on the PSP and the York County District Attorney to investigate.

“There is nothing today that changes our view that an unarmed veteran and father of two died at the hands of law enforcement,” Kirton said. “He did not commit suicide, and this was no accident. He was killed.”

This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The York Daily Record.