By Kylie Marsh
Kylie.marsh@triangletribune.com
RALEIGH – The death of a Black man found hanging from a tree in downtown Raleigh last weekend is being ruled a suicide.
Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce and Mayor Janet Cowell issued statements to the public at a press conference yesterday.
“Investigators have found no evidence that indicates that another person caused or contributed to the young man’s death, and no evidence of a criminal act has been identified,” Boyce said. “Our investigation confirms that this is a suicide.”
Video showing first responders on the scene and the body of the man has circulated on Facebook. The man was found around 3 p.m. on Aug. 15. The identity of the man has not been released.
Given the history of lynchings in the South, the incident has raised alarm bells for many in the Black community who argue that Black people do not hang themselves. Others believe that the rapidity in which the police department ruled it a suicide is suspicious.
Boyce said the individual’s mother has expressed concern for the conversation on social media.
“We want to work with our professional team – the city manager, the police chief, the medical examiner – and make sure that we are not contributing to misinformation or saying things that we know are gonna cause confusion,” Cowell said. She thanked the business community and neighbors who allegedly shared “video that show what happened so that we know these things.”
Cowell expressed “sorrow” and condolences to the family and urged individuals struggling with suicidal ideation to seek help.
A 2023 article from the Front Public Health journal reported that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for Black men in the United States. Between 2018 and 2023, the rate of suicide among Black males was approximately 25%, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Julia Nzita, a teenage girl who went missing, was found hanging from a tree in Charlotte in May. Charlotte Mecklenburg Police determined suicide to be the cause.
Earlier this month, Tasia Fortune was found hanging from a tree behind a vacant home in Jackson, Mississippi. Last year, two Black men, Trey Reed and Cory Zukatis, were found hanging on the same day in different parts of Mississippi. Reed’s death was ruled a suicide.
“As a police chief, every single death in this city is a concern to me, despite how that person looks,” Boyce said when asked by a reporter about the possibility of the death being a lynching.
Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts can call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7 at 988, or visit https://988lifeline.org/.
