No foul play is suspected in the death of a 17-year-old inmate at the Augusta Youth Development Center.
Coroner Mark Bowen said 17-year-old Ozell Burch collapsed on Sunday on the courts at YDC on Mike Padgett Highway in Augusta. Paramedics rushed Burch to Wellstar MCG, where he was pronounced dead at 12:41 p.m. Sunday. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death.
The coroner said Burch was originally from Phenix City, Alabama, and it's unclear why he was at the facility.
The Department of Juvenile Justice reportedly handed over the investigation into the death to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. YDC officials released a statement offering their thoughts and prayers to the boy's family and staff at the center.
Online, Mr Birch's grandmother remembered him in a heartfelt post on Facebook, saying her heart was heavy after Ozer's death.
“We all know I am very close with my grandchildren,” Sheila Mims wrote Sunday. “We were each other's companions. Today God took him to heaven and I will miss him so much. Rest in peace Ozell Birch. Grandma loves you and always will no matter what. I wish I could have spent one more day with you.”
Augusta's YDC is part of the state's DJJ campus system and its mission is to “provide justice and redirect and shape the lives of young people in the agency's custody so they take responsibility for their delinquency and become contributing members of society,” according to the state's website.
DJJ offers medical and mental health treatment to young inmates, as well as specialized programs aimed at “equipping them with the social, intellectual and emotional tools they will need as adults,” its website says.
