DINWIDDIE, Va. — A judge on Wednesday denied a defense request to hold Irvo Otieno’s Body, saying a corpse “is not a T-shirt” or anything else that can be easily stored.

The request came Wednesday morning during a bail hearing for Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30, who was in charge of the detail that transported Otieno to Central State Hospital on March 6.

Co-lawyer Torrey Williams requested a motion to “preserve evidence” in the Commonwealth case, which was essentially Otieno’s body. Otieno’s remains are currently at the state medical examiner’s office in Richmond, Va., and the medical examiner said it could be 10 to 12 weeks before a final report is released.

Williams requested that the body remain in the medical examiner’s custody until the defense can request its own certified medical examiner to perform an independent autopsy.

Circuit Judge Joseph Teefey repeatedly asked Williams what evidence he had to support such a request, and Williams said he was “concerned” that all of the Commonwealth’s evidence was not available so early in the process. the case.

“When you start with ‘worry,’ you head into speculation,” Teefey said. “What evidence do you have? »

“None,” Williams said.

Teefey suggested the defense “quickly” get someone with credentials similar to the state coroner to observe the autopsy process, adding that we’re not going to order that Otieno’s body not not be returned to his family for burial solely because of speculation.

“Quite frankly, we’re not talking about a T-shirt or a vial of blood,” Teefey said. “We are talking about the dignity of the human body. I will reject your motion.

The preservation motion came after Teefey set Sanders’ bail at $25,000 when Dinwiddie Commonwealth County attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill called him the ‘most guilty, most responsible defendant’ in the death of Otieno.

According to Baskervill, Sanders held Otieno back the most of the seven deputies by keeping his head and upper body down during the 12-minute period. Surveillance footage from the hospital also shows Sanders feeling Otieno’s neck for a pulse once the deputies moved away from him.

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All defendants got bail

By Wednesday afternoon, the 10 defendants had obtained bail.

Except for Sanders and Tabitha Renee Levere, 50, who got the lowest bond at $5,000, all of the other defendants got bail of $10,000 or $15,000.

The other defendants in the case are MPs Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; and Brandon Edward Rodgers, 48; and Central State Hospital security guards Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg, Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.

All 10 were indicted on Tuesday by a Dinwiddie grand jury on the charges.

Reverend Al Sharpton will deliver a eulogy

Lawyers for Otieno’s family announced Wednesday that the Reverend Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at Otieno’s memorial service. The service will be held at First Baptist Church in South Richmond.

Sharpton is the founder and president of the New York-based National Action Network, a civil rights organization. Sharpton has been a leading figure in recent high-profile cases involving the deaths of black men and women across the country.

The family’s co-lawyer, Ben Crump, said the time and date for the service should be announced in the coming days.

“This is just the beginning”

Calling the 10 people charged with her son’s death ‘monsters’ and ‘criminals’, Otieno’s mother was happy to see them all charged, but said the charges are just the first step in getting justice for her family. .

Along with her family and lawyers, Caroline Ouko spoke at a press conference Tuesday night at First Baptist Church in South Richmond, saying justice would be served for Otieno.

According to Otieno’s family, the 28-year-old was suffering from a mental breakdown when he died March 6 in a Central State Hospital admissions area after being restrained by seven County Sheriff’s Deputies. Henrico and three hospital workers for 12 minutes.

Recently released footage from the hospital showed Otieno, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, being dragged into the room. He was then restrained against a table and chair before being pinned to the ground. A deputy had his knee on Otieno’s neck.

“These nine men, these nine cowards and one woman, these 10 monsters, these 10 animals,” Caroline Ouko said Tuesday night at a south Richmond church. “I was happy to hear that they had been charged. And this is just the first step.”