WASHINGTON — More than 200 days after a D.C. man died of coronavirus in federal custody, Fabian Tinsley’s body still has not been returned to his family members, as his relatives begin a holiday season marred by the fractures and frustrations of the virus.
Tinsley, 67, died in April as an inmate at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C. His family said Tinsley’s life was invariably complex – an Army veteran who fell on hard times, nearing the end of a prison sentence for armed kidnapping and assault.
But while Tinsley’s family in Southeast, D.C. planned for the next chapter after his release, communication in the beginning of 2020 ceased. Tinsley’s niece tried to check up on him, but when she Googled his name, she learned of his death through a local news report.
Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons failed to inform Tinsley’s family of his death in April. Staff from the North Carolina facility only notified next-of-kin after reports from the CBS News affiliates in Raleigh and Washington.
“I think they thought we wouldn’t care enough, and that’s been the problem,” said Latesha Boyd, Tinsley’s niece. “We have no closure, that’s how I feel.”
After the communications breakdown became apparent in August, Boyd said Butner staff called frequently with apologies. Yet the family said they could only describe their current situation as being trapped in a bureaucratic runaround, with no firm details on where to find Tinsley’s body.
“I said, well I need to know where he’s buried, because we haven’t had a chance to identify him yet,” Boyd said. “The person from the prison said, ‘oh I’ll call you back.’ I never got a call back.”
In an October statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a spokesperson said communication with the family continues.
“After having earlier made notifications regarding Fabian Tinsley's death, staff at FCC Butner have subsequently been in contact with Tinsley's family members who wished to learn more information relating to his death, property, and disposition of his remains,” the statement read. “Family members can continue to reach out to FCI Butner via the Executive Assistant's contact information on the institution's webpage.”
Boyd provided two photos of where the correctional facility said her uncle was buried in North Carolina. The images show a dirt hole, partially covered by thin pieces of plywood.
But family members said it remains unclear if Tinsley is really buried there, after confusing and conflicting conversations with prison staff, and interactions that relatives described as lacking transparency or follow-up.
The goal remains to inter Tinsley in a Maryland cemetery near the District, yet Boyd described the process as frozen.
“My next step, honestly, is to go down to North Carolina,” Boyd said. “Because, the way that grave looks, I’m not accepting that he can possibly be down there.”