Current:Home > MyParents of US swimming champ suggest foul play in her death -Wealth Empowerment Academy
Parents of US swimming champ suggest foul play in her death
View
Date:2025-04-26 12:58:42
The parents of former American swimming champ Jamie Cail said they are demanding answers about their daughter's death in the U.S. Virgin Islands and refuting autopsy findings that an accidental drug overdose killed her in February.
In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Cail's parents, Pat and Gary Cail, slammed the police investigation into their daughter's death in February, claiming critical evidence was "completely overlooked" and suggesting foul play may have been involved.
"What we are looking for is justice for Jamie. We're looking for truth," Pat Cail said.
Jamie Cail, who was raised in Maine and lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for nearly two decades, was found unresponsive in February in a residence she shared with her boyfriend in St. John, the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department said in a statement.
Cail's boyfriend, whose name was withheld by police, told investigators he found Cail, 42, unconscious after he left a bar and went back to their residence to check on her just after midnight on Feb. 21, according to police. The boyfriend told police he and a friend immediately rushed Jamie Cail to the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Toxicology results from the autopsy found that Cail died of "fentanyl intoxication with aspiration of gastric content," according to a statement the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department released in August.
"Manner of death is accidental," the police department said in a statement, citing an Aug. 22 report from the medical examiner's office.
But Cail's parents said they believe their daughter's death was no accident and claim police have not been forthcoming with information. They said they haven't been given an official copy of the autopsy report despite repeated requests to obtain one.
"There is no way that she had fentanyl in her voluntarily," Gary Cail said.
MORE: Death of former American swimming champion probed in Virgin Islands
Pat Cail added that her daughter "never did drugs. Never."
The parents shared with "GMA" graphic photos of their daughter they said were taken by a person they authorized to go to a funeral home to view the body.
"She had a black eye. She appeared to have had a blunt trauma to the forehead. It appeared that her nose had been broken. Her lips had blood around them," Pat Cail said, describing the images.
MORE: Tributes pour in for former US swimmer amid death investigation
Gary Cail said, "We don't know if there's anything else on the rest of the body because we don't have the autopsy report."
ABC News has reached out to the U.S. Virgin Island Police Department for comment.
Jamie Cail was a star swimmer for much of her youth in Claremont, New Hampshire. As a teenager, she was a member of an 800-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships and in 1998 she notched a silver medal at the Swimming World Cup in Brazil.
Her parents said compounding their grief is the knowledge that their daughter was preparing to leave the U.S. Virgin Islands on March 14 to return to New Hampshire.
"She was coming home," Pat Cail said. "It makes no sense."
veryGood! (8317)
Related
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Dex Carvey, son of comedian Dana Carvey, dies at 32 of accidental overdose
- Ravens vs. Bengals Thursday Night Football: Baltimore rolls in key AFC North showdown
- 4 surgeries, 9 rounds of chemo: This college athlete is back to basketball and crushing it
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Arkansas governor, attorney general urge corrections board to approve 500 new prison beds
- Variety's Power of Women gala: Duchess Meghan's night out, Billie Eilish performs, more moments
- Billie Eilish Says She Never Felt Truly Like a Woman
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Why Sharon Osbourne Cautions Against Ozempic Use After Dropping to Under 100 Lbs.
Ranking
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Amazon lays off hundreds in its Alexa division as it plows resources into AI
- 5 charged after brothers found dead of suspected overdose in Alabama, officials say
- Officer fires gun in Atlanta hospital while pursuing vehicle theft suspect
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Gospel singer Bobbi Storm nearly kicked off Delta flight for refusing to stop singing
- Top UN court orders Azerbaijan to ensure the safety of Nagorno-Karabakh people
- Fans react to Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro performing – separately – at the 2023 Latin Grammys
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
K-Pop star Rose joins first lady Jill Biden to talk mental health
Kim Kardashian Turns Heads With New Blonde Hair on GQ Men of the Year Red Carpet
Woman convicted of killing pro cyclist Anna ‘Mo’ Wilson gets 90 years in prison. What happened?
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Biden seizes a chance to refocus on Asia as wars rage in Europe and the Mideast
Open AI founder Sam Altman is suddenly out as CEO of the ChatGPT maker
US military says national security depends on ‘forever chemicals’