Nevada has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that prison guards fatally beat an inmate at High Desert State Prison in 2023, according to the attorney representing his family.

Christian Walker, 44, died shortly after being transferred to the prison near Las Vegas. While the Clark County medical examiner classified his death as natural and linked to heart disease, an autopsy documented head trauma and additional injuries to his torso, neck, and extremities.

The lawsuit claimed Walker was beaten twice in close succession, beginning after a dispute over his personal property. Attorney James Urrutia, who represented the family, said the case uncovered details about Walker’s final hours. “There is absolutely no evidence that [Walker] had any heart disease, no issues at all with his heart,” he told the Associated Press.

Prison officials maintained that Walker ignored orders and displayed aggression, prompting officers to restrain him with batons and their hands. The autopsy and court filings stated that Walker’s face was swollen and bloodied when he died in custody.

Urrutia said the family accepted the settlement before trial, though Clark County remains a defendant in the case. He noted that while the payout was lower than he believed the case warranted, the family was satisfied that the litigation shed light on the circumstances of Walker’s death.

Walker had been incarcerated for more than two decades, serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 1997 killing of his 17-year-old girlfriend.