BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- There is a possible fifth victim related to the manhunt after the Boston Marathon bombings.
From her home in Georgia, Nicole Simmonds talked exclusively to FOX25's Sharman Sacchetti and said that her brother, Officer Dennis Simmonds, died as a direct result of the manhunt after the marathon bombings.
"We do believe that my brother is the fifth victim of the attacks," said Nicole Simmonds, sister of Boston Police Officer Dennis "DJ" Simmonds.
New documents FOX25 uncovered show the family has filed with the state retirement board for $150,000 in line of duty death benefits. It comes one year after Officer Simmonds' death, and two years after that night in Watertown.
"A hand grenade did explode in his close proximity," Nicole Simmonds said.
The forms are mostly redacted; you don't see a cause of death. Officer Simmonds was 28 years old when he died.
Nicole Simmonds says at the shootout her brother suffered a head injury, and was taken to the hospital that night.
"At the hospital he had some initial complaints, one of them related to his head, his brain overall headaches."
He took a month off, and went back to work. One year after the bombings and the shootout, Officer Simmonds collapsed during a workout at the Boston Police Academy and later died.
"The brain aneurysm was initial and then in the hospital he had cardiac arrest," his sister said.
There was never an autopsy performed.
He was set to receive an award from President Obama but died a month shy of receiving the commendation.
Nicole Simmonds told Sacchetti that it took the family some time, but they believe they've gathered enough evidence to show it was a line of duty death.
"We were able to see that his injuries were related to the shootout," Simmonds said.
On Tuesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told Sacchetti he agrees.
"He was a hero. He was a hero in Watertown. He died in the line of duty," Mayor Walsh said.
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The state treasurer's office told FOX25 "the board is reviewing an application for a line of duty death benefit under section 100a submitted on behalf of a police officer potentially related to the Boston Marathon attack of 2013."
The retirement board is expected to take this up at its next meeting on May 28. This review is what the state will use to consider whether or not to grant line of duty death benefits for the officer's family.
FOX25 reached out to Boston Police for a comment but officials said they would not be commenting.
Officer Simmonds' family is setting up a scholarship fund in his name for students interested in pursuing criminal justice. Click here to learn more about the scholarship.
Cox Media Group
