Part 3 Video: Denied the Right to See Him (Tristan Sheppard)

 In the early morning hours, we were blocked from seeing Tristan.

Part 3 of video sharing the story of Tristan Sheppard's suspicious death while under the supervision of police. Stand with us for Justice for Tristan.

Tristan’s mother, brother, aunts, and uncle went immediately to Bibb Medical Center ER to identify his body. When his mother asked what time it happened, officers told her 8:00 PM. She then asked: Why did it take until 3:00 AM to inform us?

They were told they could not see Tristan’s body. That his body had already been sent to Rockco Funeral Home and that they would need to wait 3–5 days until AFTER an autopsy was performed by the Alabama Department of Forensics Science, BEFORE they could see Tristan. However, when Tristan’s father arrived at Rockco, staff told him Tristan was not there and he had actually been sent to the hospital morgue. (Imagine this game of lies, deceit, and trauma inflicted on the parents on the very night/early morning of their child’s death.)

Desperate, his father called Coroner Patrick Turner, who confirmed that Tristan’s body was at the hospital but stated he could not allow anyone to see him because the body bag had already been sealed and labeled as part of an "ongoing police investigation." When Tristan’s father asked if that meant police were responsible for his son’s death, the coroner denied it but refused to open the bag. He told the family they could see Tristan only after the autopsy.

Does this sound like a simple drowning to you? Tristan’s sister also called the Coroner on that Saturday morning inquiring about seeing her brother and she was also dismissed and spoken to in a distasteful manner.

Why was the family denied the basic dignity of identifying their loved one? Why did the police officers not prioritize our family seeing the body? Why did the Coroner move so quickly to seal the body, yet attempted to donate Tristan’s organs, but he was told they were “mushed”? What was being hidden?

What we heard the coroner allegedly said when he saw Tristan’s body… shocked us.

Part 4 is coming next.

Contact Us: Justice For Tristan Sheppard 1-800-905-6993, justicefortristansheppard@gmail.com, TikTok – Justice For Tristan Sheppard (@justice4tristansheppard)