How did a teenager die while in state custody? Family says they still have no answers

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A residential treatment program in Tampa meant to help troubled teens has been closed. This comes after 8 On Your Side reported on the death of a teenager at the facility. We are now hearing more about conditions at the facility from someone who was there.

It's been nearly two weeks since 17-year-old Zy'kiria Bell died in state custody and her family still has no answers.

“At the facility she was in, they refused to talk to us,” said Sophia Bing, Zy’kiria’s aunt. “They are refusing every phone call we have received.”

A judge placed Zy'kiria at Lake Academy in Hillsborough County for behavioral problems. It is one of the state's high-risk residential facilities.

Zy'kiria's family said she was making progress and couldn't wait to leave.

“The last time I talked to her, the last conversation, 'Grandma, I love you,'” said Dianetta Thompkins, Zy'kiria's grandmother. “I'm doing well. I want to go back home.

Zy'kiria was supposed to be released around her 18th birthday in August, but on May 29, she died at the facility. The Department of Juvenile Justice has not said how she died.

“This family deserves to know what happened to their daughter,” one employee said.

This employee doesn't want to share their identity, but said they want us to know what the inside of Lake Academy looks like.

“The things I saw in there should never have happened to a lot of these girls, if someone had been involved, cared for and been there maybe it wouldn't have happened,” they declared.

A few days after our report on Zy'kyria's death, the DJJ closed the site.

“On Wednesday, transport trucks from the counties, wherever the girls were from, were on their way to pick them up,” the employee said.

“While this investigation is ongoing, out of an abundance of caution, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has expelled all youth currently residing at Lake Academy in Tampa. They will be temporarily transferred to juvenile detention centers in surrounding counties and then transferred to residential commitment programs that can meet their specialized treatment needs,” Deputy Communications Director Elaine Guiler said in a sent statement at 8 On Your Side.

Private contractor TrueCore Behavioral Solutions operated Lake Academy for the state. But despite numerous calls and emails from 8 On Your Side, the company has not responded to our questions about Zy'kiria's death.

When asked why it took more than a week for the state to close the facility and evacuate the girls, the employee said, “because they are in no rush to do anything , and if you can find a property manager on that property on a daily basis, you're in luck.

The employee claims the environment at Lake Academy was not safe for the students who lived there or the teachers who taught them.

“I've seen some horrible interactions: several teachers have been attacked so violently that they can't take it back,” the teacher said.

When asked who was failing children, they responded, “I believe in both the state, the judges, the institutions and the district. Judges continue to return children to the same facility.

This was the case with Zy'kiria. Her family said she was sent to Lake Academy twice. When his aunt Sophia Bing visited him, she had her own worries.

“The way staff interact with them; their attitudes, they’re not animals, they’re children,” Bing said.

With more questions than answers, a family is left grieving, while employees like this fight for the truth to come out.

“They should be forced to tell the family what happened and they don't want to admit their lack of oversight; this has been going on for years and they have been cited,” the employee said. “The state is present, but it does not intervene as much. »

8 On Your Side doesn't know what the state of Florida is doing to investigate Bell's death, but we do know that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has opened an investigation.

Lake Academy is being cleaned and signs are being removed. We're told another agency is making an offer to move in.