GREELEY, Colo. — Two years after Lisa Martinez died while she was an inmate at the Weld County jail, her family still wants to know why.
Martinez, 55, passed away on May 1, 2022. She had been in custody since January. She was found unresponsive in jail, and medics transported her to the hospital.
An autopsy by the Weld County Coroner the next day noted she had a history of anxiety, diabetes and chronic pain.
"Prior to being found unresponsive, the decedent had complained of being weak and unable to move on her own," said the coroner's autopsy provided by the family.
The autopsy by the coroner's office determined the cause of death was complications of dehydration and bronchopneumonia.
"It was confusing because it just didn't add up," said Kendra Rodriguez, who is Martinez's sister.
The family was skeptical of the coroner's conclusions mostly because of what they saw on Martinez's body at the hospital before doctors said she died.
"They noticed behind her neck, they saw marks so we decided to check her body," Rodriguez said. "They lifted her and checked her body and she had markings on her back."
The bruises were big enough to suggest to the family the coroner's conclusions might be flawed. So they asked for a second opinion.
"It was just a gut feeling," said Susan Holguin, Martinez's mom
That led them to a campaign called Know Your Rights Camp. Former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick runs it and it pays for a second autopsy in cases where someone died while in police custody.
"Made me nervous, anxious, for the report to come back," Rodriguez said. "Like I said, when the second report came back I didn't want too much detail."
Eight days after the autopsy in Weld County, the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences performed a second one for the family. This time, a forensic pathologist said the cause of death was asphyxia by manual strangulation with severe extensive contusions of the neck and multiple blunt force trauma. The manner of death was ruled homicide.
"Hard. Very emotional. Knowing that…not knowing what really happened," Holguin said.
The family has two autopsies with two very different conclusions. The latter brought more questions and fewer answers.
"To me justice looks like someone going to jail for what they did," Rodriguez said. "I believe she was murdered in there."
An attorney the family spoke to shared the autopsies with the Weld County District Attorney's Office. That office can conduct investigations. A spokesperson for the office told 9NEWS Investigates that they consulted with the sheriff's office and there was no indication that there was foul play or reason to believe there was a crime.
9NEWS Investigates reached out to the Weld County Sheriff's Office multiple times. The office didn't share a statement by the time this article published.
"We have to be her voice, she can't speak for herself," Holguin said. "We actually don't have any answers at all... What do we do but cry and try to comfort each other. That is it - what else can we do."
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