An independent autopsy is pending in the case of a Mississippi man who was found hanging from a tree at his college in September.
On September 15, Delta State University student Demartravion Reed, 21, was discovered hanging from a tree in the middle of campus. Though Cleveland police announced days later that Reed’s death was a suicide by hanging, his family obtained an independent autopsy — which was paid for by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Mississippi Today reports.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office and Bolivar County Coroner’s Office said in the initial post mortem report they found no injuries on Reed that would suggest foul play was involved in his death. According to Mississippi Today, an official toxicology report was completed on September 26, but it was not released to the public.
Reed’s family previously claimed that authorities disclosed his death to the media before them. The family’s attorney also alleged that Grenada County officers went to the family’s home and told them Reed was found dead in bed in his dorm room.
Jeremy Marquell Bridges, an Alabama-based activist, told Mississippi Today that he is in contact with Reed’s family and civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family. Bridges said Crump is still constructing a reenactment as part of the independent probe into Reed’s death.
According to Bridges, the independent investigation uncovered evidence that Reed suffered injuries from a recent attack by white male students. Mississippi Today reported that Bridges did not provide specific evidence of the attack, which was not mentioned in the official autopsy.
Bridges not only claimed that the belt buckle was missing from the belt Reed was hanged by, but he also said Reed had defended a Black female student who was being harassed by white classmates.
Bridges also said that the state crime lab was late to send Reed’s organs to Dr. Matthias Okoye, the pathologist conducting the independent autopsy. Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin told Mississippi Today that Reed’s organs were sent to the funeral home on October 17. Martin did not address Bridges’ allegations about the organs being sent late to Okoye.
Along with Bridges, one of Reed’s relatives told Mississippi Today that the independent autopsy had been expected earlier this month.
On October 18, Reed’s mother and the New Black Panthers Party protested at Delta State University. There, they claimed Reed suffered blunt force trauma to the back of his head — which was not disclosed in the two official reports.
According to Mississippi Today, college officials said security footage cannot be released as it is still being used by law enforcement amid their active investigation.
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