His misses the pick-up basketball games, the nights going out to clubs, and talking about simply nothing at all on street stoops.

“He was my best friend, and I’m never going to see him again,” said George Abney, 31, about his youngest brother Tyreece Abney, the 21-year inmate who was violently beaten to death in a common area at Rikers Island last week by six inmates.

Yesterday, George Abney and his three sisters, Lillie May, 32, Levoria, 30, and Yvonda, 29, spoke for the first time about their brother’s death and demanded that the office of the medical examiner disclose the results of Tyreece Abney’s preliminary autopsy to the state Crime Victims Board, in order to secure funds for a funeral.

A preliminary autopsy report was inconclusive, according to a spokeswoman from the office of the medical examiner, who said more tests were needed.

“It’s a tragedy that a man was killed on the city’s watch, and the city doesn’t cut through their own red tape to get this family the money their entitled to in order to have a proper, dignified, burial,” said an attorney representing the Abney family, Susan Karten.

The family is seeking the maximum allowance from the Crime Victims Board, a figure estimated to be $6,000, according to Ms. Kartner.

“Once the funds are released and the victim is entitled to a proper burial, then we’ll begin to address the merits surrounding [Abney’s] death,” Ms. Karten said.

Many of the questions surrounding Tyreece Abney’s death have yet to be answered. Family members described Abney, who was awaiting sentencing on drug-dealing charges, as mentally unstable and with a noticeable speech impediment.

At Rikers he was being held in a psychiatric ward, said sister Yvonda Abney, and for reasons unknown was transferred to general population where he called family members to report “threats” against him.

A fellow inmate at Rikers even wrote a letter to Yvonda Abney expressing his concern for the safety of her brother, she said.

Last Sunday afternoon Abney was attacked by three inmates, according to a spokesman from the correction’s department. A female corrections officer attempted to break up the melee, but failed. Three more inmates jumped in. Abney soon collapsed and was pronounced dead at the prison infirmary.

No weapons were used.

“His body was beaten so bad,” said sister Yvonda, the first of kin to identify Tyreece Abney’s body. “His body was beaten so bad it was purple.”

In a press conference yesterday, May or Bloomberg vowed to investigate the family’s failure to access state funds.

“You have a right to be safe in jail, and clearly the system did not protect him,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

“We all always want instant answers, but if you want correct answers, they take time,” Mr. Bloomberg added, referring to the joint investigation into Abney’s death conducted by the city Department of Corrections and the Bronx District Attorney.

However long that investigation takes to yield results, it is too long for George Abney. “I deserve to know what happened to my brother,” he said.