IPSWICH, Mass. — The sister of an Iraq War veteran who died after being found unconscious on the ground in single-digit temperatures Tuesday says she’s frustrated with a lack of information.
Marion Lyons says her brother, Michael Brooks, was a U.S. Army veteran who served 20 years in the military.
Brooks, 65, was pronounced dead at the hospital after being rushed from the scene on Caroline Avenue in Ipswich.
Neighbors told Boston 25 News that Brooks appeared to have injuries to his face and legs.
“He was in his shorts and bare feet and had a T-shirt on,” one neighbor told Boston 25 News. “His face was all beat up, and it looked like his legs were cut up.”
Lyons says if her brother was physically attacked, it would take more than one person to bring him down.
“It had to be more than one,” Lyons told Boston 25 News. “He ain’t going to run from nobody. It had to be more than one person who did that.”
Authorities have said there is currently “no wider threat to the public.”
Reached by email Thursday, a spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney’s office said there was no other information for release at this time, including the cause of Brooks’ death.
“I want to know what happened to him, why he was beat up like that,” Lyons said.
“He got along with everybody,” she added.
Lyons says her brother attended college in Texas on a football scholarship. After graduation, she said he joined the military.
About three months ago, she said Brooks fell on hard times after losing his job. In their last phone call the weekend before his death, Lyons said they talked about Brooks moving back to Texas to be closer to his family.
Now, she’s planning to scatter his ashes in the state he once called home.
“He was the best brother we could ever have,” she said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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