A mother desperate for answers in her son's death gets rare victory against police

At about 1:30 a.m. on July 8, 2020, Freddie McKee sent what would be his last text message to his mother. The Powerball jackpot had climbed to almost $70 million, and he was indulging in a daydream to get his family a new house.

“If I win you already know what I’m gonna buy you and grandma and aunt gay,” the 37-year-old wrote.

Doressia McKee was asleep at the home she shared with her son in Columbia, Missouri. That morning, his half-brother called with devastating news: Just after 6 a.m., Freddie McKee was found dead outside his father’s house a few miles away. He was shirtless. The results of an autopsy would later reveal multiple cuts and bruises on his 5-foot-11-inch, 143-pound frame, the most significant on his elbows and knees. There were small scrapes on his scalp and shoulders. A fingernail on his right hand was partially missing.

A wrenching question tugged at Doressia McKee: How did this happen?

A toxicology report from the Office of the Medical Examiner in Columbia reviewed by NBC News and based on testing done on July 9 made no mention of an illegal drug in his system, but a “corrected” report from the same office issued two months later said that Freddie McKee had a noticeable level of a psychoactive stimulant known as eutylone in his body. The medical examiner ruled his death accidental, and the death certificate dated Oct. 9 said there was “excess use of a drug.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mothers-desperate-search-answers-sons-death-gets-rare-victory-police-rcna14924