Attorney won’t release autopsy that allegedly shows black student found hanging did not die by suicide

ANALYSIS

A celebrity attorney is boosting rumors that a black college student found hanging by a noose did not die by suicide, but he has yet to release the independent autopsy report.

In mid-September, Delta State University student Demartravion “Trey” Reed, was found hanging from a tree on campus. Within three days of Reed’s death, the state medical examiner concluded and released a statement on its autopsy report, which confirmed the findings of the local coroner. 

“Findings were consistent with the initial investigation,” the statement read, “determining the cause of death to be hanging and the manner of death as suicide.”

However, black activists were quick to dismiss the claims and suggest he was in fact lynched in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Joining the fray was Benjamin Crump, an attorney who has represented the families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Michael Brown, and other high-profile black Americans killed by police or under other controversial circumstances.

“I stand with this family, and I will lead a team of civil rights leaders and organizations in pursuing transparency and answers for Trey’s family,” Crump (pictured, left) said in the news release. Yet, his office has not released the results of an independent autopsy he commissioned with the help of Colin Kaepernick’s organization.

“The evidence nor the facts support the ruling of suicide,” activist Jeremy Bridges told the Chicago Crusader for an Oct. 2 article. “He was found only partially hanging, and the medical examiner could not determine the time of death.”

The Crusader directed readers to contact Crump’s office for a copy of the autopsy report. Reporter Stephanie Gadlin wrote a second article on Oct. 14 that claimed “a verified source who requested anonymity because they were asked not to publicly reveal results,” said “the independent report showed Reed died of blunt force trauma to the back of his head. But the results on the manner of death were ruled ‘inconclusive.’”

The Crusader again repeated its assertion Reed (pictured, right) died by lynching in a Nov. 7 article.

The College Fix reached out to Crump’s office four times by phone over the last three weeks, but was met with an automated response every time. The Fix also sent requests for a statement by email and web submission four times, but received no response.

The Fix then attempted to contact the Know Your Rights Camp, Kaepernick’s group, for comment on Reed’s case but received no response by email.

The Cleveland, MS police department directed The Fix to Delta State for comment. DSU did not respond to an email request for comment and failed to return a message left on its automated answering machine.

The Fix is not alone in its inability to contact Crump’s office or DSU for comment. The Chicago Crusader reported multiple times that it was unable to reach Crump’s office.

Andrew Joseph, the field coordinator for the Black Lives Matter Grassroots rapid response team, spoke to the Chicago Crusader about the silence on the part of the university.

“I feel the campus is only concerned about its public image,” Joseph told the Crusader. “Not only did they lie to Trey’s mother and tell her he had died in his dorm room, but they also carried on with that weekend’s football game as if nothing happened. [DSU] doesn’t want the stain of a lynching because that will impact enrollment, fundraising and the school’s reputation.”

The Crusader did not respond to The Fix’s email request for more information.

Many rumors have been spreading on social media while those with access to the second autopsy report remain silent. 

In the caption of an Oct. 4 Instagram post, the Orange County Justice Initiative said, “Today, activists and advocates working closely with Reed’s family confirmed that a second, independent autopsy […] revealed blunt force trauma to the back of Reed’s head. These findings potentially conflict with the initial ruling that his death was a suicide.”

These claims were repeated by black-focused news outlets, including Black Enterprise and Black Girl Nerds.

Other media outlets have suggested Reed did not die by suicide because he was lynched “only 50 miles away” from where Emmett Till was found dead, according to Ms. Magazine.

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