Family of Trey Reed, 21-year-old found hanging from a tree at Delta State University, calls for an independent investigation into his death

The death of a Black student found hanging from a tree on a Mississippi college campus this week has left a family demanding answers and civil rights leaders calling for a transparent investigation.

According to officials at Delta State University, the body of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, was discovered around 7 a.m. on Monday by a faculty member near the pickleball courts on its Cleveland, Miss., campus. Classes were canceled on Monday.

In a statement issued Monday evening, Delta State University Police Chief Michael Peeler said that there was “no evidence of foul play and no ongoing threat to campus safety.” 

Peeler said that multiple state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, were assisting the school in its investigation.

Coroner says there is no evidence of an assault

In a separate statement, Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals Jr. said his office conducted a preliminary examination and concluded that Reed “did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault.” 

“There is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death,” Seals said, adding that Reed’s body would undergo a full autopsy. “Further information will be provided when the results of the autopsy are finalized.”

Seals asked the community to “remain patient with the coroner’s office and other investigating agencies as we work to gather all of the pertinent facts surrounding this investigation.”

Peeler said Wednesday that Reed’s body had been transported to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office, where the chief medical examiner had begun conducting the autopsy. Preliminary results are expected within 24 to 48 hours, the chief said.

Delta State president: ‘We can never fully heal this wound’

In a video message posted online Tuesday, Delta State University President Dan Ennis said the school was resuming operations while continuing to mourn the loss of Reed, and that officials remain in close contact with his family.

“We give them our love and support,” Ennis said. “And we know we can never fully heal this wound. None of us will fully heal.”

Ennis said that the school is fully cooperating with investigators and asked the public for patience.

He added: “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.”

School has received unspecified threats

At a press conference on Wednesday, Ennis acknowledged that “the manner in which Trey was discovered has stirred many emotions in this community.”

“While the preliminary report of the Bolivar County Coroner’s office indicates no evidence of foul play, we recognize that this is not only about facts,” Ennis said. “It’s about emotions and it’s about feelings.”

Ennis said that the campus has received multiple threats since Reed’s death, which are being investigated, but Peeler said “there are currently no active threats to the campus.”

“We are simultaneously grieving, we are simultaneously processing, and I think every minute about Trey,” Ennis said. “But I have to also think about my 2,800 other students and protect them as well.”

Reed’s family says it is conducting its own investigation

At a news conference Tuesday in Grenada, Miss., Vanessa J. Jones, an attorney for Reed’s family, said that her firm is initiating an independent investigation into his death.

“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,” Jones said. “Were there cameras? There should have been cameras at the university that could easily enlighten us to what happened.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said he has been retained by Reed’s family to pursue a “thorough and transparent investigation” into his death.

“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. “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.”

Mississippi congressman calls for federal probe

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, called on the FBI to launch a federal investigation into Reed’s death. 

“We must leave no stone unturned in the search for answers,” Thompson said in a press release. “While the details of this case are still emerging, we cannot ignore Mississippi’s painful history of lynching and racial violence against African Americans.”

Delta State University is located near several historical sites associated with the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till.

According to university officials, about 2,800 students are enrolled at the school, 42% of them Black.

Separate hanging death in Mississippi

Officials in Vicksburg, Miss., said that the body of Cory Zukatis, a 36-year-old white male, was found hanging in a wooded area on Monday afternoon.

According to the Clarion Ledger, Zukatis was “reportedly homeless” and living near a casino in the area. 

His body was sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an autopsy.

Vicksburg Police said that an investigation is ongoing, but they believe the case is unrelated to Reed’s death.