Family of student found hanging from tree hires Ben Crump
Family of student found hanging from tree hires Ben Crump
FILE – Attorney Ben Crump speaks during rally at Tennessee State University, Oct. 3, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Crump said Monday, Oct. 30, in Jackson, Miss., that he is calling on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate why authorities in Jackson waited several months to tell a woman that her son had been struck and killed by a police SUV driven by an off-duty officer. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
(NewsNation) — The family of a Black student found hanging from a tree on a Mississippi university campus is demanding an independent investigation into his death after local authorities said there was no evidence of foul play, and they have hired attorney Ben Crump to represent them.
Staff at Delta State University discovered a body identified to be 21-year-old Demartravion “Trey” Reed hanging near the pickleball courts on campus Monday morning, university police Chief Michael Peeler said during a news conference the day the body was found.
Reed was a student at the public university in the town of Cleveland, Mississippi.
The Bolivar County coroner said in a statement that a preliminary death investigation showed no sign of broken bones, evidence of an assault or anything that suggests “the individual was physically attacked before his death.”
The student’s family says they are not convinced that there was no foul play and are seeking an independent autopsy and investigation.
“We want answers, and we’re going to launch our own independent investigation to get those answers,” Vanessa J. Jones, an attorney representing Reed’s family, said during a press conference Tuesday.
The family retained Crump — a famed civil rights attorney who has represented the families of George Floyd, Tyre Nichols and Trayvon Martin — who has vowed to join the campaign for answers.
Reed’s “family and the campus community deserve a full, independent investigation to uncover the truth about what happened. We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many questions remain,” he said in a statement.
The attorney did not immediately return a request for comment by NewsNation.
Reed’s mother told NewsNation local affiliate WREG she has many questions about what happened because she spoke to her son Friday, and he was excited to attend Delta State.
Additionally, Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson has called for the FBI to investigate Reed’s death.
“The FBI has the tools and experience necessary to conduct a thorough, unbiased inquiry, and time is of the essence,” Thompson, a Democrat, said in a statement.
NAACP says death draws parallels to ‘centuries-long pattern of violence’
The case has sparked concern and skepticism among the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the largest civil rights organization in the nation.
“The image of a Black man hanging from a tree cannot be separated from our history of racial terror. Our people have not historically hung ourselves, and labeling this death ‘no foul play’ risks ignoring the truth,” Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO, said in a statement to NewsNation.
“In a time of rising racially motivated violence, the NAACP calls for a full, transparent investigation. This is not an isolated tragedy — it reflects a centuries-long pattern of violence and erasure that Black communities continue to face,” he added.
Reed’s manner of death has evoked similarities to lynchings that took place in the state during the Jim Crow era, the NAACP said. About 30 miles from Cleveland, 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched 70 years ago.
School president says Reed’s death has ‘stirred many emotions’
University President Dan Ennis acknowledged that the manner in which Reed was discovered has “stirred many emotions” during a news conference Wednesday.
“While the preliminary report of the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office indicates no evidence of foul play, we recognize this is not only about facts, it’s about emotions and it’s about feelings, and how this was discovered affects people’s lives,” he said.
Ennis says he “admits” that he is not “adequate” to speak to the “imagery that this incident raises” but affirmed that the university continues to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the investigation.
During the same news conference, law enforcement said the autopsy on Reed began Wednesday morning and should take 24 to 48 hours to complete.
They did not indicate a timeline for when Reed’s family would be able to perform an independent autopsy.