PHOENIX — Julie Morris carries a part of her son everywhere.
"This is Clay's thumbprint," she said while showing her necklace.
On the other side of the unique pendant, a quote that said, "I love you more, Clay Bob," It's what Morris said she used to call her son.
Twenty-seven-year-old Clay Robert Trobaugh was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona. Morris said her son loved to ride dirt bikes, ride bulls, and spend time with his family.
Then last August, Morris learned her son was in the hospital on life support after spending less than a week inside one of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office jails.
He died the day before his mom's birthday.
“As a mother, just the one thing that I didn’t ever want to hear was going to happen to my child is exactly what happened to him,” Morris said.
Court documents reveal Trobaugh was arrested that same month with multiple warrants out for his arrest. While being taken into custody, Mesa police officers say they found drugs in Trobaugh's pants and that he became combative with them. He was also charged with drug possession and aggravated assault involving an officer.
The document also said officers believed Trobaugh was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest. A problem Morris said her son has been going through since he was 18.
“We’ve been to so many programs, and so many halfway houses and so many things that we tried to help him get off the street, and he just kept going back to the drugs,” Morris said.
She said Trobaugh called her multiple times at the 4th Avenue Jail in Phoenix. Then days after he was placed behind bars, she said the next call she received was from Banner University Hospital, saying her son had hurt himself in jail and that she needed to be ready to go see him.
“They wouldn’t tell what was wrong with him," she said.
The incident report that she received months later in March said the guard at the facility found Trobaugh in his cell. It appeared he tried to hang himself. He was taken to the hospital and placed on life support.
"By the time we saw Clay, he was brain dead," Morris said.
Her son died a short time later.
While she has received some information about what happened to her son, Morris is still searching for answers to bring closure.
County death records show at least 95 inmates have died in MCSO custody since 2020. More than 40 in 2022 alone driven in part by the fentanyl crisis.
12News has spoken with multiple families in similar situations to Morris - every one of them calling for transparency.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Paul Penzone was asked about this at a press conference regarding jail deaths.
"When it comes to the video related to the loss of life that's something I can absolutely be more expeditious with and more respectful to the family. I don't want to cause them more pain or harm but if they feel like that's something that will helpful them understand what occurred, that responsibility is mine," Penzone said.
Morris and others hope the Sheriff follows through.
"It would be great if he followed up on that promise. I'd love to see the video. I think a lot of parents would like to see these videos that they have in these jails of what happened to their children," Morris said.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.