Family of Black student found hanging from a tree in Mississippi demands answers

Officials at Delta State University in Mississippi said Wednesday that a full autopsy is being conducted on the body of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a 21-year-old Black student who was found hanging from a tree on campus.

The 2,700-student school in Cleveland, Mississippi, has maintained that no evidence of foul play has been found thus far. Reed’s family has retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump and is pushing for answers and an independent investigation.

The university’s president and its police chief faced questions Wednesday about how it was determined that no foul play was involved after Reed’s body was discovered Monday hanging near the campus’s pickleball courts.

Reed’s death comes as families of other Black men who have been found hanging in Mississippi and were determined to have died by suicide are questioning their official causes of death.

Instead, the families say they believe their loved ones were victims of lynchings in a state with a history of racially motivated violence, including the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till.

Reed’s family has not publicly commented on his death.

“I want to begin by acknowledging that the manner how Trey was discovered has stirred many emotions in this community and many emotions around the state and the nation,” University President Daniel Ennis said.

But, he said, “The preliminary report of the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office indicates no evidence of foul play.”

University Police Chief Michael Peeler concurred: “We didn’t believe or have evidence of foul play.”

Bolivar County’s coroner is conducting a full autopsy on Reed’s body with preliminary results expected within the next 24 to 48 hours, Peeler said Wednesday.

Despite officials’ statements, calls for justice and rumors about Reed’s death have surged online.

Crump said Tuesday that he had been retained by Reed’s family and that “his family and the campus community deserve a full, independent investigation to uncover the truth about what happened.”

He did not identify the family members who hired him.

“Trey was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him,” Crump said on social media. “We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many questions remain.”

Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals said Tuesday that no lacerations, fractures or other injuries were found on Reed’s body to indicate a potential assault.

“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death,” Sears said in a statement on his Facebook page.

In a separate news conference Tuesday, attorney Vanessa Jones of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said she had also been retained by Reed’s family. It was unclear if she represented the same family members who retained Crump as their attorney.

Jones said she was going to launch an independent investigation into Reed’s death and demanded transparency from officials.

“The family does not know exactly what happened on Sept. 15, 2025,” she said. “We are seeking answers.”

Jones claimed that “the family of Trey Reed has not even received a phone call from the president of Delta State University.”

Ennis said during the news conference Wednesday that he has been in “regular, frequent contact” with family members listed as Reed’s emergency contacts.

“Trey Reed gave us two names and the contact information for the people he wanted to be contacted in the event of emergency, and we have maintained contact with those two people,” Ennis said.

Jones said she was seeking video evidence from Delta State about what took place Monday when Reed was found.

“There should have been cameras at the university that could easily enlighten us as to what happened in the early morning,” she said.

Reed’s uncle, the Rev. Jerry Reed, who spoke at Jones’ news conference, said he found the situation concerning.

“Bring the truth to the light, that’s what we’re looking for,” he said.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.