LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas lawyer says Channel 13’s reporting may be the reason behind the end of a months-long wait for answers about how a High Desert Prison inmate died.
The LJU Law Firm said Malik Avila’s family now has his autopsy results, after at least eight months of waiting.
“After the news of the case and the filing hit the public, hit the news, shortly after that, the coroner’s office decided to email a completed autopsy report to the family,” said James Urrutia, Esq.
Mary Kielar follows up with Malik Avila's family about the new development in their search for answers:
When I asked if Channel 13’s previous reporting had anything to do with it, the lawyer said, “It for sure had something to do with it.”
Charlene Avila, Malik’s aunt, previously talked with Channel 13 and shared that she went to see her nephew a few weeks before he died in High Desert State Prison.
She and other loved ones stood on the steps of the Regional Justice Center on August 3, announcing legal action against the Nevada Department of Corrections.
"His mother is a mess," Avila said at the time. "She doesn't go a day, hours, without missing him — you know, crying."
AUGUST 3 | Hear from Malik Avila's family about their decision to sue the Nevada Department of Corrections:
The autopsy report is from the coroner's perspective, but the family's lawyer says it contains a narrative from prison staff that provides important new details about how they interacted with Malik.
“We were partially pleased [with] some of the results," Avilia said. "Then, obviously, there were some other findings in there that we had a suspicion of. We were happy that they came out, but then it even deepened our sadness as far as maybe a contributing factor of his passing.”
There are still unanswered questions, Urrutia and the Avila family told Channel 13 this report is a step toward getting answers.
"We know they entered his cell with the [Correctional Emergency Response] team, quote-unquote, 'put their hands on him,'" Urrutia said.
The Clark County Coroner's Office did not respond to Channel 13's request last week about how long it took to release the autopsy report. NDOC previously told Channel 13 in a statement that the department does not comment on pending litigation.
