The sister of a man who died from injuries sustained at the Scioto County, Ohio Jail tells SCDN the coroner ruled his death a homicide. Karen Skaggs said she finally received the coroner’s report for her brother, Kevin Bailey, on Friday.
According to Skaggs, “Sad to say he was hurt way worse then we knew. I knew his head had multiple fractures but didn’t know his left temple was broken.” She said the report also detailed six broken ribs and bruises to the lungs. The official cause of death is listed as severe blunt force trauma. Skaggs said the coroner ruled the cause of death as a homicide.
We’re working on getting a copy of the report up ASAP.
Skaggs said. “I pray to God this young punk answers for what he did to my brother before long. I’m so sorry Kevin, that you suffered so much. And I will keep my promise to you and will never stop fighting for you.”
Long Wait For Results
Bailey died over four months ago after he suffered injuries at the Scioto County Jail. At the time officials said he was hurt after running from guards. Others told a different story. Witnesses claimed Bailey got mouthy with guards and was beaten. The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation took over the investigation.
A deputy was fired over the incident but no charges were filed. Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman said that his office was waiting for the final coroner’s report from the state. Now, it appears that report is finally in. We also reached out to Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman for comment and are waiting for a response.
Kevin Bailey was a 57-year-old Portsmouth man. He battled drug addiction for decades. His sister said he was homeless, he slept in tents and abandoned buildings. She admits he had a big mouth sometimes and was pretty good at making folks angry.
Bailey’s big mouth led to his arrest in the wee hours of May 24. He yelled at a neighbor and waved a pipe around. According to the police report, he didn’t get physical. There was still enough evidence to arrest for aggravated menacing for threatening someone.
Bailey was walked into the Scioto County Jail. He would never walk out. Three days later, Skaggs got the call that her brother was on life support at a Columbus hospital. She had to make the painful decision to shut off life support on June 1 after doctors said he would not recover.
No Money For Funeral
It took six weeks before she could pick up her brother’s ashes. But there was a catch. Skaggs had to hand over the money raised to pay for Bailey’s memorial service to the City of Portsmouth before claiming the ashes.
She’s originally planned to open up her father’s grave and add her brother’s ashes. But with the money gone, she couldn’t afford it. ”I was very upset because we had already planned on having a small family gathering at the grave. So we had to cancel that. Now I will have to try to save up to get the grave opened.”
