Officials are still awaiting autopsy reports for the man who was found dead in the Pike County jail this past weekend. Meanwhile, a relative suspects John Wayne Gill was mistreated while in custody.
Gill, 39, 1113 Old Liberty Road, McComb, was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct and brought to the jail early Saturday morning.
He was found slumped over dead in a jail cell later that morning.
His brother Jeff Gill alleged in Facebook posts that he had pictures of his brother that showed evidence of abuse.
“The coroner would not let us, the family, take pictures, but my aunt sneaked some pictures of his crushed-in face and bruises all over his body where he had been obviously kicked and beaten all over,” Jeff Gill wrote.
Pike County Coroner Percy Pittman said this morning that he saw nothing that indicated Gill had been physically mistreated.
An autopsy was reportedly conducted Monday, but its findings were not available this morning.
Gill’s family was at the jail to bond him out when they learned of his death, Jeff Gill said.
“Our family was demanding to see him, and Sheriff Mark Shepherd himself came out and told us that he was dead after deputies had already lied to our entire family about his bond not being set until Monday, knowing he was already dead, which means they were trying to cover it up,” Gill said.
Jeff Gill did not respond to requests for interviews on Monday or this morning.
The sheriff said Gill was combative and disruptive while at the jail, and officers used pepper spray on him and had to carry him back to his cell, where he was left alone.
Shepherd had no new updates in the case this morning, and he noted that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe into the case.
As for Gill’s brother’s allegations, Chief Deputy Steve Rushing said, “There’s nothing we can do about people just randomly talking about things they don’t know about.”
Jones Family Funeral Services of McComb is handling funeral arrangements for Gill, which remain incomplete.
