NEW ORLEANS - Family members of Glenn Foster, who died in police custody in Alabama, say an independent autopsy shows the former Saints player died by strangulation.

Attorney Ben Crump released a statement Friday sharing the results of the examination ordered by the family. 

"Glenn Foster Jr.'s death, while in the Pickens County Sheriff's custody and care, was not from natural causes as the independent autopsy suggests there was some evidence of neck compressions and strangulation," the statement read in part. 

The sheriff's office said earlier this month that Foster died two days after he was taken into custody following a high-speed chase near Reform, Alabama. He was booked into the county jail Dec. 4 on charges of reckless endangerment and resisting arrest by “attempt to elude.” When Foster's family—who said the former athlete suffered from bipolar disorder—went to the jail to bond him out, they learned he'd been booked again on three counts of simple assault and one count of third-degree robbery.

Court records allege that while in custody, Foster attacked a sleeping inmate and tried to steal his socks, prompting two guards to get involved in trying to restrain him. Foster then allegedly got into a fight with the guards leading to the additional charges.

Foster was taken to a hospital via police cruiser the next day, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Those records do not mention what happened to Foster or whether he was injured during or after the altercation. 

"What happened to him physically, whether he was beat by inmates, was he beat by prison staff, or a share of police?" Foster Sr. said. "Was there any altercations inside the vehicle he was in when he was transported to the medical facility?"

Autopsy findings from the Pickens County coroner's office have not yet been released.