A 24-year-old black man in Virginia with a history of mental illness was found dead in his jail cell this week. Family members hinted they suspect he starved to death after being held without bail for nearly four months for stealing $5 worth of groceries.

According to The Guardian, Jamycheal Mitchell was found lying on the floor of his cell early Wednesday. While jail authorities insist his death does not appear suspicious, those closest to him claim he stopped eating and taking his medication, as he languished behind bars with no end in sight for allegedly stealing a Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake, all of which was worth no more than a minimal sum.

"His body failed," said aunt Roxanne Adams, who is also a registered nurse. "It is extraordinary. The person I saw deceased was not even the same person," she said, adding that her nephew had no muscle mass left in his body by the time of his death.

Reports are Mitchell suffered from both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He was taken into custody by Portsmouth police on April 22, and roughly a month later was found by Judge Morton Whitlow to be mentally unfit to stand trial.

The judge then ordered Mitchell transferred to a state-run mental health facility for treatment, but the mandate was never carried out because the facility where he was to be transferred claimed it had no vacancies.

Mitchell again went before the court for a case review on July 31, but again was returned to prison population, where he remained until his death.

"He just chain-smoked and made people laugh," said Adams. "He never did anything serious, never harmed anybody." She later added, "He was just deteriorating so fast. I kept calling the jail, but they said they couldn't transfer him because there were no available beds."

Adams estimates that her nephew lost as much as 65 pounds while he was incarcerated. She added relatives were not able to regularly visit him because he had not given jail officials their names as approved visitors.

"His mind was gone because he wasn't taking his meds, so he didn't have a list for anyone to see him," she said.

On the same day Mitchell was arrested, a Portsmouth officer shot and killed unarmed black teen William Chapman outside a Walmart less than three miles away. State prosecutor Stephanie Morales has indicated she plans to pursue criminal charges against Officer Stephen Rankin in that case.