Black People Lynched: 10 Recent Cases That Shook America

In recent years, a disturbing pattern of Black people being lynched in public places has raised concerns across the nation. While authorities have largely ruled these deaths as suicides, families, activists, and communities are questioning whether there is something more sinister at play. Is this a tragic coincidence, or is a darker force behind these heartbreaking deaths? 

Demartravion “Trey” Reed

The death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed has brought attention to a growing issue in recent weeks. On Sept. 15, the body of 21-year-old Reed was discovered hanging from a tree on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Reed, a student at the university, was found near the pickleball courts just after 7 a.m., according to investigators. His death has raised serious questions due to the nature of the discovery and reports that Reed had broken legs and other injuries that would have made it physically impossible for him to hang himself, the Clarion Ledger noted. University police have stated that there is no evidence of foul play, and the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office confirmed no signs of physical assault. However, Reed’s family has expressed deep concern over the circumstances surrounding his death. 

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“The family does not know exactly what happened on September 15th of 2025,” attorney Vanessa Jones said as previously reported. “We are seeking answers.”  The legal expert also criticized authorities for what she called “a possible constitutional violation of releasing Trey’s name to the media immediately” after his body was found. She also noted that “a lot of the questions we have…should be quite easy to answer, because if this young man was on the campus of Delta State University with all of these cameras…there should be surveillance of all of his actions.” In addition to Jones, civil rights attorney Ben Crump has also been retained by Reed’s family, demanding a thorough and independent investigation into what happened. Crump voiced his support for Reed’s loved ones as they strive to find out what happened.  “Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him,” the civil rights attorney wrote in part. “His family and the campus community deserve a full, independent investigation to uncover the truth about what happened.” Reed’s death is tragically part of a disturbing trend. Several other Black people have died under similar suspicious circumstances in recent years, and their deaths, many of which were ruled suicides, continue to spark outcry and demand for transparency. Let’s examine a list of Black people who have been lynched in recent years.

1. Javion Magee

Javion Magee, a 21-year-old truck driver from Chicago, was found dead on Sept. 11, 2024, near his truck in Henderson, North Carolina. Magee had been making a delivery to a Walmart distribution center when his body was found, with a rope around his neck. The family quickly disputed the suicide ruling, with Magee’s cousin posting a viral TikTok questioning the official explanation.

According to ABC 11, Magee’s family maintained that he had no history of mental illness and firmly rejected the idea that he took his own life. Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, however, stood by the suicide ruling, rejecting claims of a lynching and noting that the rope was not tied in a traditional noose.

 

2. Trevonte Jamal Shubert-Helton

On Feb. 21, 2024, 29-year-old Trevonte Jamal Shubert-Helton was found hanging from a tree in Swallow Creek Wildlife Management Area in Hiawassee, Georgia. Authorities quickly labeled his death a suicide, but his family has expressed doubt about the ruling, calling for a more thorough investigation. 

In March of that year,  the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled Shubert-Helton’s death a suicide.

3. Dennoriss Richardson

In September 2024, 39-year-old Dennoriss Richardson was found hanging in an abandoned house in Colbert County, Alabama. While a state autopsy ruled his death a suicide, the family commissioned a private autopsy, which found no conclusive evidence of suicide. 

As previously reported, the private autopsy conducted by the family, carried out by forensic pathologist Dr. Adel Shaker, affirmed the state’s findings that Richardson died from “Asphyxia Secondary to Neck Compression,” which is consistent with hanging, but the report noted that the hyoid neck bone, which can be sometimes fractured during hanging deaths or incidents of strangulation, “wasn’t present when Shaker examined the body,” the Associated Press noted.

For that reason, Shaker said it was nearly impossible to conclude whether Richardson was killed or had hung himself. Shaker urged for a “thorough and meticulous investigation” to be carried out to confirm whether suicide was the actual cause of death.

Richardson’s wife, Leigh Richardson, believes her husband was murdered, particularly given his prior legal battle against the local police department. Leigh said that she suspected that her husband’s death was connected to a lawsuit he filed against the local police department in February 2024. The suit alleged that while Richardson was in jail, he was assaulted, denied medical attention, sprayed with tear gas, and tased.

She explained to the Associated Press, “This is why we are fighting for the truth. This has not been easy by any means. However, we know that “NaNa” did not kill himself.”

Local activists have also expressed concern about the official ruling, citing the history of racial violence in Alabama. In Colbert County alone, there were 11 documented lynchings between 1877 and 1943. The history of racial injustice in the area has led many to question whether the state’s findings were influenced by that legacy.

 

4. Dominique Alexander

Dominique Alexander, a 27-year-old from the Bronx, was found hanging in Fort Tryon Park in New York City on June 9, 2020. His death was ruled a suicide by the city’s medical examiner, but his family and community members remain skeptical.

Despite the official ruling, many question the circumstances surrounding Alexander’s death, particularly given the broader context of suspicious hangings of Black men in the area.

5. Robert Fuller

On June 10, 2020, 20-year-old Robert Fuller was found hanging from a tree in Poncitlan Square in Palmdale, California. His death was also initially ruled a suicide, but his family and supporters have raised questions. The community in Palmdale, like other communities affected by similar deaths, called for a deeper investigation into the events surrounding Fuller’s death.

6. Malcolm Harsch

Just a few days before Robert Fuller’s death, 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch was found hanging from a tree in Victorville, California, on May 31. Like Fuller, his death was ruled a suicide by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, but questions remain. A video later surfaced showing Harsch preparing to hang himself. Still, many continue to raise concerns about the true nature of his death and what led up to the tragic incident.

7. Earl Smith

On June 11, 2025, the community in Binghamton, New York, came together in protest, calling for an investigation into the death of Earl Smith, a 58-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree in Albany, New York. While Albany police have ruled the death a suicide, Smith’s family and activists believe foul play was involved, sparking growing concerns about the troubling pattern of similar cases across the country.

During an interview with WBNG in June, local activist Salka Valerio expressed the collective unease, saying, “There have been a lot of people found hung in trees around the country. There was just a situation around twin boys, young teenagers, found down south under a tree. They’ve been ruling them as suicides, and a lot of people in the Black community are not feeling that they were. And the investigations are not happening.”

8. Yolna Lubrin

Valerio’s comments reflect a deeper fear and frustration within the Black community, where many believe these deaths are being hastily labeled as suicides without thorough investigations. One such case is the death of 31-year-old Yolna “Yo-Yo” Lubrin, whose body was discovered hanging from a tree in Orlando, Florida, on Sept. 28, 2023.

The police ruled it a suicide almost immediately, but her family insists that the authorities jumped to conclusions without conducting a proper investigation. The medical examiner confirmed ligature compression to the neck as the cause of death, and traces of the drug MDMA were found in her system, but the circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear, according to The Orlando Sentinel. 

During an interview with USA Today in 2023, her sister, Naomi Lubrin, spoke out, stating, “Overall, they have not done their due diligence in providing more insight. I feel like they messed up horribly.” Naomi’s comments echo the growing frustration felt by families of victims, who feel their loved ones’ deaths are being swept under the rug with minimal effort to uncover the truth.

 

9. Omari Bryant

On Dec. 5th, 2020, Omari Bryant, 18, was found hanging outside the Southern Pines Inn in Homerville, Georgia. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, but there were several red flags. A concerning photo from the Davis Bozeman Johnson Law Firm showed Bryant with a noose around his neck in front of the motel, yet his feet seem to be touching the ground—something that would make hanging impossible, a Change.org petition calling for a further investigation into Bryant’s death noted.

To make matters worse, none of the six surveillance cameras outside the motel was working that night. If they had been operational, they could have captured key footage of what really happened.

10. The Mississippi Suspected Lynchings

A private investigation led by civil rights activist and attorney Jill Collen Jefferson uncovered a chilling pattern: at least eight Black people had been lynched in Mississippi since 2000. What’s even more troubling is that each of these deaths was officially ruled a suicide by local authorities, despite the families and loved ones insisting otherwise.