Family of Black student found hanging from a tree in Mississippi seeks independent autopsy

The family of a Black student found hanging from a tree at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., is requesting an independent autopsy to identify the true cause of death.

Demartravion "Trey" Reed’s lifeless body was found at 7:05 a.m. on Monday, campus police said. Investigators said there was no evidence of foul play.

"We will seek answers independently from Delta State University and from the coroner's office and, if need be, independent from the state coroner's office because we need answers as to what happened to Trey Reed," family attorney Vanessa J. Jones said in a statement, as reported by USA Today. 

"Were there cameras? There should have been cameras at the university that could easily enlighten us to what happened in the early morning of September 15, 2025," she added.

A similar case was reported around the same time last year in North Carolina when Javion Malik Magee was found dead and police ruled it a suicide by hanging.

Reed’s death sent shockwaves through the school’s online community and national organizations as those who knew him mourned the loss of the 21-year-old.

“Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him," civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Tuesday on social platform X. "His 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 continued. "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 will help lead an investigation into the unexpected death of Reed.

The NAACP described Reed’s death as a lynching while citing the current political climate as a potential motive.

“While initial reports offered no evidence of “foul play”, you’d have to excuse our skepticism amidst growing racially motivated violence targeted at our communities across this nation,” the civil rights organization said in a statement on Instagram.

“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 NAACP added. 

Reed’s body was recently sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an official autopsy report. 

Delta State University President Dan Ennis said in a video shared online that the school will continue to release information as it becomes available. 

Ennis added, however, that the university will only make public what’s “appropriate."

"We will never release any information or make any statement that compromises the ability of authorities to get to an answer that is true, that is real, and that, if not satisfying, at least helps us understand a little bit better what occurred," he said.