The death of a 21-year-old black student whose body was found hanging from a tree on a university campus in the US has sparked outrage and allegations online, even after officials said there was no evidence of foul play.
Police were notified Monday morning about the body found near the pickleball courts at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, university police Chief Michael Peeler said at a news conference later that day.
He said the body was identified as that of Demartravion “Trey” Reed.
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Although Peeler said there was no evidence of foul play or of a threat to the school community, classes were cancelled Monday at the 2700-student campus.
Yet, that has not prevented people from calling for justice for Reed on social media and circulating unsubstantiated allegations regarding his death.
The NAACP on Tuesday expressed scepticism of the possibility Reed committed suicide in such a manner.
“You’d have to excuse our scepticism amidst growing racially motivated violence targeted at our communities across this nation,” the country’s oldest civil rights group said Tuesday on Instagram in a post with a picture that read, “A man was lynched yesterday.”
“So while we await more formal autopsy reports and information, we offer this piece of history with a level of certainty: Our people have not historically hung ourselves from trees,” the post caption read.
Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Tuesday that he has been retained by Reed’s family and will lead a team of civil rights organisations in a “transparent investigation” of Reed’s death independent of law enforcement and the local medical examiner.
“Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him,” Crump said in a statement.
“We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many questions remain. ... I will lead a team of civil rights leaders and organisations in pursuing transparency and answers.”
The Bolivar County Coroner’s Office said Monday that it was conducting a thorough investigation into Reed’s death and denied rumours being shared online that his body had been found with multiple injuries indicative of a potential assault.
“Based on the preliminary examination, we can confirm that the deceased did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault,” Coroner Randolph Seals said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death.”
The FBI office in Jackson, Mississippi, said it was prepared to assist, but only if local authorities believe a federal crime may have been committed.
“The FBI is poised to review the incident if our law enforcement partners develop information to suggest a federal violation,” the office said by email Tuesday.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Bailey C. Martin said the agency is assisting campus law enforcement, who continue to lead the probe.
Delta State University said in a statement Tuesday that it was “heartbroken at the loss” and that hundreds of students had gathered Monday night for a prayer vigil to honour Reed.
The university said it would continue to work with law enforcement on its investigation.
“Our focus remains on supporting Trey’s family, friends and the Delta State community as we continue to grieve this loss together,” the university said, adding that counselling services were available for students.
University President Daniel Ennis said in a statement Monday that “our community is deeply saddened by this loss”.
“I have spoken to Trey’s family and expressed our heartbreak,” he said.
The outrage online comes as families of other Black men who have been found hanging in Mississippi are questioning the official cause of death of their loved ones, who were determined to have died by suicide.
Instead, the families say they believe their loved ones were victims of lynchings in a state with a history of racially motivated violence, including the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till.
Reed’s family has not publicly commented on his death.
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