200
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

The body of a Black student was found hanging from a tree at Delta State University early Monday, prompting horror on the Cleveland, Mississippi, campus.

According to the university’s chief of police, the body of 21-year-old Demartravion “Trey” Reed was discovered on Monday at approximately 7:05 a.m. local time.

“University Police was notified of what appeared to be the body of a Black male hanging from a tree (at) central campus near the DSU pickleball course,” said Delta State University Chief of Police Michael Peeler, who said the body was later identified as Reed, who is from Grenada, Mississippi.

“Our community is deeply saddened by this loss, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to families and friends and all those who were impacted by Trey’s loss,” said Delta State University President Daniel J. Ennis, reports MPB. “I’ve spoken to Trey’s family and expressed our heartbreak.”

Reed’s death has ignited shockwaves on the campus of Delta State, a public university with a 52% majority white campus and a Black population of 36%.

Despite online comments describing the death as a lynching–harking back to the U.S. South’s well-documented history of lynching Black Americans–police chief Peeler said the circumstances behind Reed’s hanging are still under investigation. The investigation is conducted by the Cleveland Police Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, and the Bolivar County Sheriff’s Office.

“As of this time, there’s no evidence of foul play,” Peeler said. “While there’s no evidence of foul play, the body has been retrieved by the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office.”

According to the Mississippi Free Press, Bolivar County Deputy Coroner Murray Roark, who assisted a medical examination of Reed’s body, said there was no evidence of broken arms or legs.

“I don’t think I should probably discuss this any further than that. My opinion is that it was self-done, and I have reasons for that,” said Roark, despite the death still being an active investigation.

A video of the horrific scene was apparently circulating online, prompting a Facebook account belonging to a woman named LaShay Reed, presumably a relative of Trey Reed, to take to the social media account to speak on behalf of the family.

“On be half of respect for our Family please please!! don’t do no Post no videos or anything… Just keep us In yall Prayers REED Family / Tillman Family,” the woman posted along with a photo of Trey Reed and family members.

“What done in Dark will come in Light,” she wrote in another post.

As a result of Reed’s death, classes and campus activities have been canceled. However, the campus did not go into full lockdown.

President Ennis stressed that the campus was “safe,” telling reporters, “Delta State University is a beautiful place to be. It’s just unfortunate, this loss that comes heavy to our campus.”

top 39 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] [email protected] 62 points 2 days ago

"hey guys, just assume it's a suicide until we can find a way to cover this up, thanks"

Vs.

"What trans seductress could have corrupted this poor innocent whiteboy into doing this? We should crack down on trans groups while we investigate since it can't hurt"

[-] [email protected] 80 points 3 days ago

America deserves all the hate it gets and then some

[-] [email protected] 57 points 3 days ago

amerikkka deserves way more hate than it gets, the south twice that much

[-] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago

Exactly. Fuck Amerikkka and double fuck the SSouth. Nothing makes me more pissed than the constant glazing the south and every single terrorist who lives there constantly gets.

[-] [email protected] 82 points 3 days ago

“As of this time, there’s no evidence of foul play,” Peeler said.

monke-ruserious

[-] [email protected] 37 points 2 days ago

According to the Mississippi Free Press, Bolivar County Deputy Coroner Murray Roark, who assisted a medical examination of Reed’s body, said there was no evidence of broken arms or legs.

What the fuck do broken arms or legs have to do with determining it wasn't a lynching?

[-] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago

Evidence of a struggle. To prove that it's a lynching and not a suicide, you'd look to see if there's any injuries outside of the hanging.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

Obviously broken limbs would generally be sufficient evidence to prove the point, but it is not remotely necessary evidence.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

I think we're staying the same thing in different ways. All broken limbs infer lynchings, not all lynchings infer broken bones.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

Agreed, but that's why I think it's really weird of the coroner to single out "well, none of their limbs were broken" like that really helps to answer the question. There are so many other injuries they could have that would clearly establish it, and also they don't even need to have other injuries to have been lynched!

It's like if there was an attack on someone who is currently missing, and the forensics guy says "Well, we didn't find disemboweled intestines at the scene of the assault. I can't say anything else, but I think the victim is still alive and I have reasons for believing that." Like, it's not even a particularly likely thing to find even in the case of it being a murder. It seriously sounds like the coroner is being deliberately misleading. Were there bruises? Cuts or scrapes? What did the ligature marks indicate? There are so many much more obvious questions to ask about than if the victim has broken bones.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Probably pretty quick to ID a broken limb than it would be to ID other signs of struggle, as a guess.

Also, police and university officials are absolutely going to need to do some type of PR damage control, right?

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

If the coroner has had even 20 minutes to examine the body, he should be able to tell if there are external lacerations or at least obvious bruising. Simply saying "no obvious injuries found so far beyond what was done by the hanging" would be so much less suspicious

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Yes... yes it would.

[-] [email protected] 91 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

“I don’t think I should probably discuss this any further than that."

Okay cool

"My opinion is that it was self-done, and I have reasons for that,” said Roark, despite the death still being an active investigation."

You could have just stopped.

(Also not to be an ass but you forgot the "b" in "Black" in the title.)

[-] [email protected] 27 points 3 days ago

thanks fixed

[-] [email protected] 66 points 3 days ago

Are they actually saying this lynching is also a suicide?

[-] [email protected] 42 points 3 days ago

It’s Mississippi so the chances of it being the former are pretty high

[-] [email protected] 56 points 3 days ago

every day i think weve hit rock bottom and amerikkka finds a way to get worse

[-] [email protected] 71 points 3 days ago

Lynchings never stopped

[-] [email protected] 30 points 2 days ago

Oh and look, here comes the entire species to celebrate this death as if they weren’t lecturing the left on how that’s wrong.

[-] [email protected] 26 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Sounds a whole lot like this story from earlier this year: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/albany-police-release-statement-man-found-hanging-20390210.php

Cops declared it a suicide. People in the area were not convinced.

[-] [email protected] 26 points 2 days ago

What the hell. Hopefully whoever did this is caught. Hanging yourself in public just sounds so fake.

[-] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago

And for some reason the only people who ever do it are black people in the South. Give me 5 minutes alone with the Reconstruction button and I'll fix it.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

It 100% happens because I've 100% had a relative do it, but that was fairly clear cut, they weren't black and it wasn't in Mississippi.

[-] [email protected] 34 points 2 days ago
[-] [email protected] 43 points 3 days ago

lol? wtf did i do? i just clicked the link

[-] [email protected] 35 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You clicked it in a very gay manner. Mississippi doesn't like that

[-] [email protected] 45 points 3 days ago

A lot of American based local news websites apply geofencing rules to block IPs from outside the country. Not sure if it's for their own protection or if it's just because the site doesn't want to bother implementing GDPR

[-] [email protected] 37 points 3 days ago

It’s GDPR a bunch of websites applied these blocks around then

[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 days ago

Oi, you got an loisence for learnin' about things happening across da pond?

[-] [email protected] 37 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I was also preemptively banned from this site???? Tf is going on

Nevermind, another comment pointed out geofencing. No illegal internet immigrants allowed to read this news

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago
[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

No not on the browser I used lol

[-] [email protected] 51 points 3 days ago

Here's to the state of Mississippi

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago
[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[-] [email protected] 41 points 3 days ago

Fucking pig piece of shit

this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
200 points (100.0% liked)

news

24344 readers
808 users here now

Welcome to c/news! Please read the Hexbear Code of Conduct and remember... we're all comrades here.

Rules:

-- PLEASE KEEP POST TITLES INFORMATIVE --

-- Overly editorialized titles, particularly if they link to opinion pieces, may get your post removed. --

-- All posts must include a link to their source. Screenshots are fine IF you include the link in the post body. --

-- If you are citing a twitter post as news please include not just the twitter.com in your links but also nitter.net (or another Nitter instance). There is also a Firefox extension that can redirect Twitter links to a Nitter instance: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/libredirect/ or archive them as you would any other reactionary source using e.g. https://archive.today/ . Twitter screenshots still need to be sourced or they will be removed --

-- Mass tagging comm moderators across multiple posts like a broken markov chain bot will result in a comm ban--

-- Repeated consecutive posting of reactionary sources, fake news, misleading / outdated news, false alarms over ghoul deaths, and/or shitposts will result in a comm ban.--

-- Neglecting to use content warnings or NSFW when dealing with disturbing content will be removed until in compliance. Users who are consecutively reported due to failing to use content warnings or NSFW tags when commenting on or posting disturbing content will result in the user being banned. --

-- Using April 1st as an excuse to post fake headlines, like the resurrection of Kissinger while he is still fortunately dead, will result in the poster being thrown in the gamer gulag and be sentenced to play and beat trashy mobile games like 'Raid: Shadow Legends' in order to be rehabilitated back into general society. --

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS