The family of Christina Nance, whose body was found last week in an unused police van in a Huntsville, Ala., police parking lot, say they aren’t accepting a recent autopsy report that said there was no foul play in her death. They plan to have a private autopsy performed on her, according to Fox 54.
It is not clear how Nance, who was 29 at the time of her death, got inside the van or when. A cause of death is pending and will include a toxicology analysis by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
In fact, little is known about this case at all. And new reports don’t tell us much about Nance, either. According to Newsweek, which compiled information on her case, the family reported her missing two weeks ago. They also asked for surveillance footage from the parking lot.
Nance’s sister, Whitney Nance, told WAFF that something wasn’t adding up.
“We do not believe that our sister would just randomly walk to a van and climb in it. First of all, why wasn’t the van locked on police property?” she said.
Here is what’s known about the van: The Huntsville Police Department bought it in May 1995 to transport inmates. It was repurposed in the early 2000s when the Madison County Sheriff’s Office took over all detention services. The last time it was used was in March to move evidence approved for disposal from cleared cases.
The family has hired lawyer Ben Crump, who vowed to find out the truth of what happened to Nance.
“We will get to the truth of what happened to Christina Nance, the young Black woman found dead in the police van in front of the Huntsville Police Department,” said Crump. “We lift up Christina’s family with prayer as they mourn this devastating loss.”
Here’s hoping the family gets the support they need, and more media attention is put on the victim’s case. The media also need to stop pulling up her criminal record, something I found in at least two local stories about Nance’s case. Local media appear to spend more time digging up any so-called dirt than on the victim than they are drilling the cops and the city about her death.
Anyway, her family is hopeful they will get the answers they need.
“Her spirit will not rest, and her spirit in our hearts and minds and souls will not rest as well until we have some kind of understanding,” said Frank Matthews, Nance’s cousin.