Family of Duquesne student who fell out of window hires attorney to investigate his death

PITTSBURGH — The family for a Duquesne University football player who fell to his death from a 16th floor window on campus has hired an attorney to independently investigate the death.

Marquis Brown, 21, was a junior in the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts from Washington, D.C.

Brown, also known as Jaylen, was a running back for the Duquesne Dukes football team.

His family has said from the beginning that they don't believe he jumped, which is what police said happened.

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Days before the homecoming game, police were called to Brottier Hall's 16th floor for what they called a "disturbance" before Brown fell from the window.

Brown's mother has enlisted the help of Lee Merritt, a high-profile attorney.

"This was a man who had just turned 21 years old, he was doing really well in life, didn't have any prior suicidal ideation," Merritt said. "For him to suddenly have jumped from a 16th floor window was a, is a shock to everybody."

Merritt told Channel 11 he will first try to come up with a complete picture of what happened based on evidence. He also wants to look into the windows at the residence hall.

"We want to look at the structural integrity of that building to see if that at all played a role in what happened and if this could’ve been prevented," Merritt said.

Merritt is planning to travel to Pittsburgh to talk to witnesses on campus. He's also seeking another autopsy done on Brown's brain.

"We know that Jaylen had suffered a concussion recently," Merritt said. "In fact he was just cleared days prior to his death."

Merritt, and the Brown family, want experts to look at Brown's brain to see if CTE might have been a factor.

Duquesne University released the following statement:

“The University is looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation by the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and to getting answers to questions regarding this tragic incident.”

Cox Media Group