The death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed from Grenada, Mississippi, sparked sadness and frustration, as family members sought to understand what happened to the 21-year-old college student.
Mr. Reed, who was a freshman at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., was found hanging from a tree on campus on the morning of Sept. 15, prompting an investigation into his death.
His body was transported to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Preliminary findings determined the cause of death to be hanging and the manner of death to be suicide, according to a statement by the Cleveland Police Department, dated Sept. 18.
Toxicology results are pending and may take two to four weeks to complete, the statement said. Files and investigative material were also turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The statement concluded: “This remains an active investigation.”
“I am very hurt. Me and Trey were real, real close,” Mr. Reed’s mother, Sophia Reed, said to The Final Call. “I just want the truth. I want to know what happened to my baby.”
Mr. Reed’s family spent the week of his death attempting to get answers from authorities and asking for video footage. During a Sept. 17 press conference, Chief Michael Peeler confirmed that videos were in the hands of the investigative team.
Delta State police had been working in conjunction with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Bolivar County Sheriff’s Office and the Cleveland City Police Department.
Mr. Reed’s family announced they were seeking an independent autopsy. In a Sept. 16 press conference with family and an interview with Roland Martin Unfiltered, attorney Vanessa J. Jones of the Jones Law Firm echoed the family’s calls for answers.
She said two different law enforcement agencies, the Grenada County Sheriff’s Department and the Cleveland Police Department, initially told Mr. Reed’s grandfather that he died in his dorm room from apparent suicide.
“I don’t have any knowledge of any calls that the grandfather received. I know I did speak to the grandfather or the next of kin, and outside of that, I can’t answer what calls he received and who he received them from,” Chief Peeler said in the Sept. 17 press conference.
Atty. Jones also voiced that the family had not received a phone call from Delta State’s president.
“As we move forward, we’re just looking for answers that a simple camera on the university’s campus will answer,” she said. “The family is getting all of their information secondhand through the news, and we want that to stop today,” Attorney Jones said.
University president Daniel Ennis stated that the university had been in constant contact with two of Mr. Reed’s emergency contacts, or next of kin.
“I acknowledge that both next of kin and family are grieving, but from the point of view of doing this correctly and right and respecting the student’s wishes, the university has been and will continue to be in direct contact with Trey’s chosen names and those individuals, they can choose to do what they will with the information and the communication we give them,” he said.
The university also posted a statement to Instagram on Sept. 16: “Today, we remain heartbroken at the loss of our student, Demartravion (Trey) Reed. Last night hundreds of students gathered on campus for a prayer vigil in honor of his life. We’ll continue to hold each other close in the days ahead.”
The university is offering counseling services to students, faculty and staff.
Mr. Reed’s family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation. “Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him.
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,” Atty. Crump shared in a Sept. 16 statement.
In another statement, Atty. Crump announced former NFL football star Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative” will cover the cost for the independent autopsy. Know Your Rights confirmed the announcement in an Instagram post.
Mr. Reed’s mother and other family members remembered him as someone who loved God and loved attending church.
“Most every other Sunday, he would be here to attend the church here. And he was one of the types of young men that he was very obedient,” Pastor Jerry Reed of Living Faith Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ in Grenada, Mississippi, Mr. Reed’s uncle, said at a Sept. 16 press conference with family.
“He would come here laughing, so joyful, a happy young man,” he said. “A young man like that, he wasn’t a street young man. Sometimes we got people that’s in the streets and this and that. He wasn’t that type of person. He didn’t do any old thing.”
Sophia Reed remembered her son as a happy and goofy young man who did not show signs of suicide. “He was happy to get ready to go off to college. That’s all he was talking about,” she said. “We actually barbecued for Memorial Day. My son was with me. We all barbecued out at the house. He didn’t show no signs.”
“Every conversation, we always say, well, I love you,” she concluded.