Autopsy: Boot Camp Teen Died of Suffocation

May 6, 2006— -- Fourteen-year-old Martin Anderson died after he was punched and kicked by guards at a juvenile boot camp in Florida. The altercation was caught on tape.

The initial autopsy found that his death was not the result of any physical contact, but instead the result of a sickle-cell trait, which is a normally harmless blood disorder.

Martin's parent refused to accept the findings from that autopsy.

"The case is that they beat him on that field, against that pole," said Martin's father, Robert Anderson, on "Good Morning America" in February. "And then when he fell... when they all fell on top of him, then they started kicking him and choking him. That's what he died from."

Pressure from the Andersons and organized protests forced Gov. Jeb Bush to reopen the case. Now, after exhuming Martin's body months after his death, a second autopsy supports the family's claim that their son died as a result of the guards' actions.

The autopsy found that the death was cased by suffocation and "the forced inhalation of ammonia fumes." The guards said that they had used ammonia capsules to keep Martin conscious. The Andersons say that the second autopsy brought a sense of relief and vindication.

"The truth is out," said Martin's mother, Gina Jones. "We all knew how Martin passed away. So I'm relieved and happy today. It's a beginning -- justice needs to be served."

But the latest autopsy does not say if Martin's death was an accident or homicide.

The Florida state attorney general called for the medical examiner who did the initial autopsy -- Dr. Charles Siebert -- to be suspended. Martin's parents said Siebert was covering up for the guards.

"I think right now it's a little premature to make a conclusion like that, a jump like that," said Siebert in an interview on "GMA" today. Martin's parents also appeared on the show.

Siebert said that the second autopsy has not provided any evidence to substantiate the claim that Martin was killed by the guards. He believed that the boy was sick and would have died even without the beating and suffocation.