A Black student of Delta State University, 21-year-old Demartravion “Trey” Reed, was found dead and hanging from a tree in Mississippi on Monday (Sept. 15), but his family said that police initially told them that he was found dead in his dorm room.
As reported by Hollywood Unlocked, attorney Vanessa J. Jones, who represents Reed's family, said during a press conference on Tuesday (Sept. 16) that the family wants an independent autopsy performed.
"The family does not know exactly what happened on September the 15th of 2025," Jones said. "We are seeking answers from Delta State University. We're seeking answers from the coroner's office."
Jones told reporters that when the family was first told about his death, police officers didn't tell them that he was found hanging from a tree.
"The Grenada County Sheriff's Department arrived at Trey's family home... at approximately 9:15 and informed the family that Trey was found dead in his dorm room, in his head," Jones said.
She said that the family only found out that his body was found hanging from a tree when the media reported it.
"That’s one of the reasons for the urgency of this press conference, because the family is getting all of their information secondhand through the news," she said.
Staff at Delta State University reportedly discovered Reed's body hanging from a tree on the school's campus on Monday. He had only just started attending college.
Officials said there was no evidence of foul play, per NBC News, and there were no visible injuries outside of the marks on his neck.
"Based on the preliminary examination, we can confirm that the deceased did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault," said coroner Randolph Seals. "At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death."
The NAACP cast doubt on how Reed died in a statement asserting he was "lynched."
"You’d have to excuse our skepticism amidst growing racially motivated violence targeted at our communities across this nation," the statement said. "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."
An investigation is ongoing.
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