July 26th, 36-year-old Betty Jean Winston was found dead in her cell at the Mercer County Jail. She had been taken into custody only a few days earlier after being charged with disorderly conduct.

Valley attorney Dave Betras, who is representing Winston's family, says they've received very little information about her death and have serious concerns on how the investigation is being conducted.

"They have all of the evidence, they have the tapes, they have the body, they have the forensics, you know what we have, a dead relative, that is all we know, we have a d-e-a-d relative," Betras said.

Winston's family says she has a history of mental illness and was told by other inmates that she was maced and tased by a Mercer deputy and left without medical care.

Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker calls that, "categorically untrue."

"I can't believe that a 36-year-old African American woman with really no bad criminal background with a mental illness, dies at the hands of county officials," Betras said. "How does that happen? People don't die in jail, people are not supposed to die in jail, people are supposed to be given the proper medical care they need and if someone is mentally ill, they should have been admitted to the hospital and not treated at the facility and held in jail for a relatively minor misdemeanor and given a ridiculously high bond."

Betras says what disturbs them with this case is the lack of transparency. He wants any video footage and tapes released from the jail surrounding her death. He also sent a letter to Acker demanding that an outside agency handle the investigation.

"We have not been given any answers," Betras said. "We know there are tapes, the tapes should be released immediately and we're calling upon the District Attorney to call in an outside agency so this family knows that whatever happened, happened, and an independent agency is investigating it so no cover-ups are made, we don't know exactly what happened to her. Unacceptable that the agency that was responsible for her care is the same agency that is doing the investigation. Look, we want transparency, maybe nothing was done wrong, maybe something was done wrong, all we know is, we don't know anything and the purpose is to shine a light on this and to get justice for this family.

Acker provided this statement to 21 News:

I recently discussed with Attorney Betras the status of the investigation which is still pending. I was not aware of his "call". Traditionally, incidents at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer are investigated by the PA Department of Corrections and the PA State Police. If those investigations indicate a need for consideration of criminal charges, those matters are reported to my office and I make the decision as to whether or not to prosecute. If prosecution is warranted this office conducts the prosecution.

With regard to incidents at the Mercer County Prison, my county detectives conduct the investigation and report to me. If criminal prosecution is warranted, I make that decision and this office conducts the prosecution. Generally, the PA State Police does not get involved in incidents at the Mercer County Prison unless I request them to do so. I doubt the PA State Police will become involved in this investigation unless I ask them to do so. I see no reason at this time to make that request. The State Attorney General has no jurisdiction to become involved in this matter unless I request them to do so. At this time I see no reason to make that request.

The status of the investigation is very straight forward. My County Detectives promptly went to the Mercer County Prison, reviewed the scene, reviewed internal videos, interviewed staff and Prime Care medical staff and consulted with the Mercer County Coroner as did I. The Coroner promptly sent the body to the Erie County Coroner's Office for a forensic autopsy by Dr. Eric Vey, a board certified forensic pathologist who has conducted numerous inmate autopsies from multiple sources. Dr. Vey drew fluids which were sent to an outside laboratory for processing. That outside laboratory processing takes a number of weeks. Once that lab report is generated and made available to Dr. Vey, Dr. Vey will finalize his autopsy report and forward it to Mercer County Coroner John Libonati. Coroner Libonati will then finalize his coroner's report and forward it to my office for review. I anticipate that having the investigation finalized is still several weeks away. Thank you.

Stay with 21 News for updates to this story.