Gynnya McMillen
© WLKY News Louisville / YouTube
Gynnya McMillen gasped for air amid a seizure as a juvenile jail staffer watched and did nothing, and for the next 10 hours, staffers ignored her dead body in a "systemic breakdown" of duty, according to an state investigation revealed in a new lawsuit.

Arrested for dubious reasons and taken to a Kentucky juvenile detention center more than an hour from her home, McMillen, 16, was left to die on January 10 as several staff members at Lincoln Village Regional Juvenile Detention Center failed to perform basic duties to ensure the unresponsive teenager was safe, a federal lawsuit filed by her family on August 31 against the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice and Lincoln Village employees has alleged.





"Nobody wakes up fine every day for 16 years, and then goes to a detention center one day and 17 hours later randomly dies,"McMillen's sister LaChe Simms, who is not involved in the lawsuit, told CBS News.

Six staff members were among those who lied about making 65 bed checks, ate her breakfast when she did not respond, and did not immediately perform CPR when they discovered she was not breathing, according to an internal investigation by the Department of Juvenile Justice made public via the lawsuit.

The "systemic breakdown led to staff possibly not noticing (Gynnya) in a medically stressed state," the investigation found,according to WDRB. Despite much evidence of such a "breakdown," the detention center's superintendent told investigators "it appears we did everything right."

'Her last gasps'

McMillen was arrested in Shelbyville, Kentucky, more than an hour from Lincoln Village, sometime late on January 9 or early on January 10. She was taken into custody as she was walking down the street after an altercation with her mother, who had called the police. Though neither she nor her mother would speak to police about the altercation, she was arrested and ordered by a state court judge to be held at Lincoln Village overnight until her court appointment on January 11.

Once at Lincoln Village, McMillen resisted orders to remove her hoodie so staff could check her for contraband. Two staffers used a Aikido technique to restrain her, according to the investigation, taking her to the ground out of view of a surveillance camera. She continued to struggle as more staff members became involved, but "staff did not harm her,"according to Shelbyville police officer Austin Sasser.

"The youth was lowered to the floor face down, one arm remained raised with the elbow straight as part of the restraint,"Mike Wynn, the Public Information Officer for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, told CBS News. "Her hand and wrist are visible for a few moments, but then move below the counter. After a few moments, the hand and wrist are briefly visible again before they move back below the counter."