Medical examiners have officially ruled the death of Sandra Bland a “suicide by hanging,” according to NBC News. Authorities said Thursday that her autopsy concluded that there was no evidence of a violent struggle.
Warren Diepraam, assistant district attorney of Waller County, made the announcement at a press conference. Bland, 28, was found dead in her jail cell on July 13 after spending three days in jail for failing to signal a lane change.
“The only injury that was found close to the hands were some lacerations or abrasions on her wrists, which are consistent with being handcuffed and struggling,” he said. “There were no bite marks or other injuries on her face, on her lips, on her tongue, which would be consistent with a violent struggle.”
Friends and family members of Bland have been vocal of their suspicions of foul play and, in spite of the finding, many of the complicated details surrounding her death remain a mystery. Earlier this week, Waller County authorities said they would treat her death as a “murder investigation.”
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According to Diepraam, Bland had about 30 cuts on her wrists that were consistent with scarring from two to four weeks ago. The news comes a day after cops said she had previously attempted suicide.
More mysterious are the reports that Bland had “smoked or possibly swallowed a large amount of marijuana while in custody.” According to Reuters, Waller County D.A. Elton Mathis revealed the alleged drug detail to the family lawyer Cannon Lambert, in a text message.
“Looking at the autopsy results and toxicology, it appears she swallowed a large quantity of marijuana or smoked it in the jail,” Mathis said in the message. “This will of course be very relevant in any future criminal or civil litigation.”
Dash cam footage released Monday shows the trooper dragging Bland from her car and chastising her for smoking in her vehicle. The footage appears to have been edited, with many critics questioning its validity.
Lamber told NBC News that the state trooper “looked to force her to get out of the car by way of opening the door and started demanding that she do.”
“We want to understand what happened, we want to know what happened and we want to know why,” Lambert said.
Since the news of her death broke, social media users have been aggressively demanding details as to what happened to Bland. The hashtag #WhatHappenedToSandraBland was trending nationwide for days. On Thursday, the hashtag #JusticeForSandraBland began trending, and reports began circulating that her mugshot was taken when she was already dead.
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