Autopsy finds hanged Mississippi student died by suicide, police say
CLEVELAND, Miss. (AP) — An autopsy conducted by the office of Mississippi’s state medical examiner has concluded that a Black student found hanging from a tree at Delta State University died by suicide, Cleveland police announced Thursday.
The police department in Cleveland, where the campus is located, shared the findings in a news release. According to the statement, the autopsy results were consistent with a preliminary examination carried out by the Bolivar County coroner, which found no evidence of foul play.
The 21-year-old student’s death, discovered early Monday, immediately ignited strong emotions in a Southern state with a history of racist violence. Even before the autopsy results were made public, the student’s family and their lawyers had called for an independent autopsy and urged police to share any security camera footage and other video evidence collected.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has announced that he will lead an independent investigation into the case. Crump’s office did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment on Thursday.
Cleveland police released no additional details regarding the autopsy findings besides confirming that the cause of death was hanging and that the manner of death was ruled a suicide. They noted that toxicology test results are still pending and could take weeks to be finalized.
The police statement added that the investigation into the student’s death is ongoing. Evidentiary files in the case are being shared with the FBI and federal prosecutors.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, had previously called on the FBI to investigate the incident.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/09/18/campus-hanging-mississippi-autopsy-findings/
