‘What are you covering up?’: Family searches for answers after loved one dies unexpectedly in Greensville Correctional

JARRATT, Va. (WRIC) -- A family is searching for answers after their loved one, 40-year-old Christopher Armentrout, died while at Greensville Correctional in September — and they still don’t know the cause.

“Your loved one should come home after serving their sentence, and not the way ours came home. They should come home alive," said Christopher's step-mom Amanda Armentrout.

He was halfway through his 15-year sentence for a police chase that ended in a car crash in Rockingham County. He was convicted of felony eluding and malicious wounding when the two women in the other car were critically injured, one losing the baby she was pregnant with. 

Amanda, who currently lives in Lynchburg, said his unexpected death has devastated the family and that she didn't believe the news was real at first.  

“I thought maybe it might be a prank call or a telemarketer in a different time zone who had it all wrong and was calling at a strange hour," she said.  

Someone from Greensville called the family around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14, but only shared that Christopher was found dead in his cell at 4:18 a.m. 

“He couldn’t tell me what the circumstances were," Amanda said. "I didn’t know if he’d...had a heart attack. Has he been beat to death? You know, what’s happening? I have no idea...I went to the kitchen, and I kept asking him, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know, you’ll have to speak with the warden. We’re sorry he’s gone.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean he’s gone?’ I’m thinking, ‘Did you transfer him?’" 

The person she spoke to on the phone told her the warden would be able to tell her more if she called back at 8 a.m. that day. When she did, he wasn't there. It wasn't until over 24 hours later that she finally talked to him, but still didn't get answers. 

“I think they confuse how they treat inmates with how they treat family," Amanda said. "Their perception of humanity is skewed.” 

Amanda immediately submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. She asked for Christopher's mental health records, a log of which corrections officers were working the morning he died and video surveillance. 

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) said it had 256 pages related to her request but was “exercising its discretion” and would not share any of it. 

“The first thing that you think is, ‘What are you covering up? What are you hiding behind?'" Amanda said.  

She has since revised her requests but hasn’t heard back. At the time of this report, it is still within the legal timeframe for the VADOC to respond. 

In 2024, there were 97 deaths in VADOC facilities. Nearly a quarter of those were at Greensville- 23.

Amanda described Christopher as having a big heart and said they shared a special bond. Amanda had known him for most of his life and officially became his stepmom when he was 23.  

“He could gripe to me about things that he probably didn’t feel comfortable telling one or both of his parents," she said. "I could be a sounding board in that way...I tell him the bright points about things that are happening out here. I shared, you know, what we were doing in our everyday life and tried to be a touchstone, and I think he limited what he told me.” 

She said in a final letter from Christopher, he shared his experience in what the VADOC calls restorative housing, or solitary confinement, and said he'd seen guards beat inmates, and handcuffs were so tight his hands would turn blue.

In January, 8News reported on three corrections officers charged with assault and battery of an inmate. Another was charged in March for smuggling in $300,000 worth of drugs, including fentanyl.  

“Those men don’t have to always be comfortable," Amanda said. "It shouldn’t be cushy...But it should be humane, and it should be safe, and your loved one should come home after serving their sentence.”  

Amanda said if and when they get any sort of answer from the medical examiner, they’re still battling trust issues with the VADOC. 

“We learned a long time ago over these years how to live without Chris in our everyday lives," she said. "But we had that light at the end of the tunnel of what it was going to be like when he rejoined our family. And now we don’t have that.” 

Amanda said she wants to keep investigating and get answers to feel a sense of closure. She said her husband, Christopher's father, is grieving differently. 

“He is just very sad," Amanda said. "All the things that he had hopes for that we’ve been waiting for all these years are gone...[Christopher's] mom is devastated, his sisters are devasted. His brother. Like none of us can believe this is how it is.” 

It could take up to 16 weeks for the medical examiner’s report to be completed. 

8News has requested to sit down with VADOC director Chadwick Dotson for months. Every request has been denied.