Tyrel Benedict's family say jail cell attack was preventable

As Nova Scotia's Justice Department draws closer to completing its investigation into why a 19-year-old Lower Sackville man was nearly beaten to death in its custody, the two young women closest to him say it was preventable.

"It's not right. None of this is right," said Meryl Morpaw, the girlfriend of Tyrel Benedict.

• Mother gets more time at brain-injured son's bedside

Benedictwas arrested on March 9 near Antigonish on break and enter and robbery charges.

He was in custodyat the closest and newly opened jail near Pictouthe Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facilitywhich was operating at less than half capacity.

On Monday at a court in Antigonish, his application for bail was denied.The following day, Benedict was transferred to the jail in Burnsidethe Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility which was almost 80per cent full.

'Why move to Burnside?'

"Which I didn't understand and he didn't understand either," said Morpaw. "Because he had court two days later in Antigonish. Why move to Burnside?"

On his first night at the problem-plagued facility, he was beaten so brutally in his jail cell thathe suffered a traumatic brain injury.

More than five weeks after the attack, he's still lying in a QEII hospital bed recovering.His cellmate, Tyrico Smith, has been charged with aggravated assault.

Benedict's sister says the practice of shared cells, known as double-bunking, is the main factor in the attack.

"If he wasn't with somebody, he wouldn't have gotten beat. He wouldn't be in there, he wouldn't be in the hospital," said Sharisha Benedict.

Court orderedno contact

The Justice Department says it was following a judge's orders when it moved Benedict to the Dartmouth jail.There was to be no contact among the four individuals charged together in the case, so they were separated.But Morpaw rejects that.

"If there are over a hundred free beds in Pictou there's got tobe four beds in that place where those four paths would never cross."

One of the issues justice officials have been looking into is inmate compatibility.Turns out the two men have known each other for years.

Sharisha Benedict says her mother babysat her brother and Smith. And as teens they would've run into each other.

Cellmateswere friends

Morpaw says the young men were friends and isn't aware of any bad blood between them. She met Smith more than a year ago, when he had spent a few hours hanging out with her boyfriend.

"When Tyrico left, Tyrel and Tyrico hugged, did boy-prop things, and you know, see you when I see you next bro-type thing," she said.

Thefindings of the Justice Department investigation are expected next week.