DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of an Army veteran wants answers after her son, who was in the DeKalb County Jail, died while in custody last week.
Jonia Milburn is waiting to take her son’s body back to Houston to bury him. She said the 27-year-old, Christon Collins, should have been at the VA Hospital getting help for mental health issues.
"He was a very caring person, very, very helpful," Milburn said.
Milburn also said that Collins spent more than three years in the Army, and when he got out in 2017, his mental health had taken a hit.
"Never was the same," she said. "Never from the very first night he came home he had an episode. He was diagnosed several times with 100% PTSD and schizophrenia," Milburn said.
For the next several years, Milburn said her son was arrested and hospitalized multiple times. Each time, she claims Collins would leave the VA on his own before getting the help he needed.
"The VA saying they can’t make him come; he has to come voluntarily," Milburn said.
Instead of help, Milburn claimed he was sent to jail. Collins’ most recent arrest landed him in the DeKalb County Jail on Feb. 4 for obstruction of law enforcement and simple battery against police.
"There’s no collaboration. One person is saying this, but when it’s time to go to the VA, there’s no one there to know he’s coming, and when I finally get the VA on the line -- now the jail system is saying they can’t bring him there," she said.
On March 13, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said Collins experienced a medical emergency in his cell and was taken to a hospital, where he died.
One week later, Milburn still doesn’t know how he died.
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Photos: Christon Collins
"What happened to my son? Who was in the jail cell with him? How long was he down? Who found him," she asked.
Milburn said it’s too late for her son, but she hopes by telling his story, others can get the help they need.
“There’s no way that a veteran that has served our country should die in a jail cell because he was in jail because of a mental health episode,” she said.
DeKalb County is still investigating Collins' death. 11Alive also reached out to the VA and is awaiting a response.