http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-probes-north-carolina-teens-hanging-death-ruled-suicide/

Quote :

"BLADENBORO, N.C. - The FBI is looking into the death of a black teen after his family questioned the official ruling that the young man found hanging from a swing set at a trailer park had committed suicide, a prosecutor confirmed Friday. An emergency caller found 17-year-old Lennon Lacy hanging by a dog leash and a belt Aug. 29 in the town of Bladenboro, N.C., his feet 2 inches off the ground. Lacy's mother and supporters with the North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP) said there are too many unanswered questions after the state medical examiner ruled the teen had killed himself. CBS affiliate WRAL reports Lacy's family and the NAACP have called the teen's death a "race-based homicide" and asked for the federal investigation, saying local authorities rushed to reach a conclusion and did not fully investigate the case. The teen's mother, Claudia Lacy, told the Associated Press on Monday that her son had no reason to commit suicide. "I know my child," she said. "As a mother, I would have sensed if something was wrong to the point that he was going to harm himself." Dr. Christena Roberts, a pathologist hired by the NAACP to assess the teen's autopsy, found that the state medical examiner, who ruled the death a suicide, was never provided with photos of the swing set, making her unable to determine if it was possible for the high school junior to hang himself from it. According to the report issued by Roberts, Lacy was 5 feet 9 inches tall, while the cross beam on the swing set was 7.5 feet from the ground. There were no swings attached to the structure, nothing on the scene that he could have stood on and a grommet that the noose was tied to was nearly 2 feet away from the swing's climbing platform, Roberts found. Bladen County District Attorney Jon David confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that an FBI agent has been assigned the case. David has previously said he has seen no evidence of foul play in the case. Likewise, Teresa West, a spokeswoman with the State Bureau of Investigation, said agents have addressed all viable leads. The Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, however, has said questions remain that need to be answered, including why Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a dog leash and a belt he didn't own. In a statement released Friday, Barber said the FBI's decision to join the effort "to crack the small-town code -- to cover for the errors in handling the death scene -- to ensure that state of the art forensics are applied here, and to re-interview people who know about Lennon's efforts to begin building bridges between different groups in Bladen County is a great step forward toward justice.""

Details left off this story:
-He was dating a 31 year old white woman
-There was a kkk rally in the next town over the week before his suicide.
-Someone vandalized his grave
-He was wearing someone else's shoes (2 sizes too small) instead of his new jordans when he hung himself after allegedly walking for several miles

12/14/2014 3:19:01 PM

photograph of 31 year old white woman revealed

12/14/2014 3:21:35 PM

i remember reading a longform style piece about this a month or so ago. gonna try to dig it up...thought it was well written and interesting.

here it is

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/09/-sp-north-carolina-teenager-suspicious-death-lennon-lacy

[Edited on December 14, 2014 at 3:27 PM. Reason : link]

12/14/2014 3:24:24 PM

I am from Clarkton, which is a town right next to Bladenboro. It really hurts my heart that this could happen, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Bladenboro has always been full of racists and the KKK even marched there in 1993. I am surprised more people on my Facebook aren't talking about it. Everyone has something to say about Ferguson, but not this kid that died in our backyard. I really hope they figure out what happened and the white community actually stands up and shows support for this innocent kid.

[Edited on December 14, 2014 at 11:21 PM. Reason : Pretty sure there was NOt a KKK rally a week before his death in the town next to Bladenboro. ]

12/14/2014 11:05:29 PM

Republicans.

12/14/2014 11:07:43 PM