Jamie Cail’s Family Disputes Her Cause of Death: ‘There is Definitely Foul Play’

The family of former standout swimmer Jamie Cail released post-mortem photos to Insider that show heavy bruising around her left eye and a mark on her nose — what they claim is evidence of foul play involved in the 42-year-old’s death this past February.

Last week, the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department said an Aug. 22 autopsy report revealed Cail’s cause of death as an accidental fentanyl overdose. But according to Jessica DeVries, Cail’s cousin and family spokesperson, the photos taken by a family liaison in March show that “somebody put their hands on Jamie.”

“We have decided to release the photo because we need everybody to understand that Jamie was not a fentanyl user — that she had actually been beaten,” DeVries told Insider. “Jamie’s face was smashed in, the top of her skull and her nose. Her face is bashed in. Did fentanyl do that to her?

“We know that Jamie did not ingest fentanyl intentionally,” she added. “There is definitely foul play. We want transparency and we want justice. (Cail’s family) is completely devastated to have Jamie’s name tarnished in this way. Jamie was not a fentanyl user or an opioid user of any kind. She did not do drugs. She was a national, international swimmer who deserves the honor of that because she was amazing and dedicated her life to that.”

However, one expert told Insider that while the photos indicate Cail suffered “trauma” before her death, they’re not clear “evidence of a beating or a cause of death.” Forensic pathologist and former New York City chief medical examiner Michael Baden added that the injuries could have come from “a blow to the eye or a blow to the scalp” and “could have happened in a number of different ways.”

Cail was found unresponsive on the floor by her boyfriend at their shared residence in St. John. She was later pronounced dead after a failed CPR attempt at Myrah Keating-Smith Clinic.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that most of the 106,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021 were caused by fentanyl. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden requested nearly $800 million in additional funds for the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice to expand access to addiction care and reduce the supply of drugs such as fentanyl.

Cail was one of the best high school swimmers of the 1990s. The New Hampshire native represented the U.S. internationally at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships as just a teenager, where she won a gold medal on the team’s 800 free relay. She swam the 3rd leg alongside Lindsay Benko, Ashley Whitney, and Jenny Thompson.

Cail also won a silver medal at the 1998-99 FINA Swimming World Cup in Brazil in the 800 free as a member of the United States Swimming National B Team.

Cail swam for the legendary Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where she remains the team record holder in the 200-yard fly, 400-yard IM, 200-meter IM, and 400-meter IM in the 15-16 age group. While with Bolles during the 1996-97 season, Cail was on ten Top 16 lists published by USA Swimming.

She would eventually move to Huntington Beach, California, training with the Golden West Swim Club and winning California High School State Championships in the 200-yard IM and 500-yard free. She competed collegiately at both USC and Maine.