Support truly
independent journalism
Daelena Mackay was a student “full of life” and looking to follow in her father’s footsteps as an actor.
But in May, she was found hanging from a red scarf in her Los Angeles apartment just one month before her 21st birthday. For weeks, her body sat in a mortuary after the county’s medical examiner ruled her death a suicide.
Her father, Dwayne Adway, a veteran Hollywood actor who has appeared in hit television shows CSI, NYPD Blue, and Soul Plane, has since cast his doubt over the cause of his daughter’s death and said the family is looking for “truth and justice.” Her mom, Elaine Mackay, also insisted that her daughter had suspicious injuries.
After finding Mackay in her El Centro Hollywood bathroom on May 23, a man claiming to be her boyfriend said he desperately attempted to revive her as he called 911, police said. Those attempts failed, and she was pronouncd dead by paramedics just after midnight.
The boyfriend said he left the apartment at approximately 8pm following an argument and returned to find her dead, according to the police report.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner did not perform an autopsy. The medical examiner told The Independent that an external examination conducted on May 25 and “the circumstances surrounding the death” of the 20-year-old were conclusive. The case remains open, it confirmed.
But Mackay’s family isn’t satisified, and Adway said he intends to “apply pressure” to the Los Angeles Police Department to dig further into his daughter’s case, he told the New York Post.
“They are dead set on staying where they are and not looking more into the case. This seems to be happening a lot in LA with black and brown girls who die and are written off as suicides,” he said.
Adway told the outlet that he has met the man who called 911 the day of his daughter’s death and said he had concerns about his behavior.
Mackay’s mother claimed that the purported partner was not the same as her her daughter’s long-term off-and-on boyfriend in Texas, she told the Mail.
The heartbroken mom has also shared her disdain about the lack of a thorough post-mortem examination on her daughter’s body. She claimed that she was left with “no choice” but to examine her body herself.
“Her body tells a different story than what police are telling us, with bruises and bleeding from two puncture wounds approximately an inch apart that go from the front of her body straight through to the back and other bleeding,” she told the outlet.
Mackay also maintains that her daughter saw a therapist the day prior to her death, adding that there was “zero clinical indication of depression or suicide, that my daughter was full of life.”
Adway contended that an autopsy is not likely to shed more light on the cause of his daughter’s death but he continues to press authorities to pursue further action.
“I am seeking a full investigation from LAPD in hopes of finding the truth and justice,” he told NBC Los Angeles.
Adway said that he consulted with two private forensic pathologists and claimed they told him that there is no doubt that his daughter was strangled. However, their autopsy results would not differ from the medical examiner’s.
“The issue is not that she was strangled, but the manner in which she was strangled is the question,” Adway told the Post.
The Independent has reached out to the LAPD about whether they’ve decided to investigate Mackay’s death further.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
