Trey Reed Death Update as Lawyer Demands Video Be Shown to Family

Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family of Delta State University Student Demartravion “Trey” Reed, has demanded that “all video footage” relating to his death earlier this week be provided to the family.

Trey Reed, who was Black and aged 21, was found hanging in a tree on the Delta State University campus in Mississippi on Monday. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play.

Newsweek contacted Crump and Delta State University for comment on Thursday via email outside of regular office hours, along with the local Bolivar County Sheriff’s Office by telephone.

Why It Matters

Following Reed’s death, rumors spread online that he had been found with a range of injuries such as broken limbs that could indicate an assault.

Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals Jr. denied this saying a preliminary examination found he “did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault.”

Still, the case has sparked community concern and memories of Jim Crow-era violence in Mississippi, with the university campus in Cleveland being located close to a site associated with the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till.

What To Know

In a statement released on Wednesday, Crump demanded that “all video footage” related to Reed’s death be provided to his family.

He said: “Trey’s family deserves answers they can trust. We cannot accept rushed conclusions when the stakes are this high. By demanding the family be allowed to view any video and commissioning an independent autopsy, we are taking every step to uncover the truth about what happened to Trey.

“Every student deserves to feel safe where they live and learn. That is why it is so important to get to the bottom of this tragedy.”

Randolph Seals of the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office said there was no evidence Reed had been assaulted prior to his death, which he said occurred on Sunday.

Reed’s body has been sent to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an autopsy and more details are expected to be released once this has been completed.

What People Are Saying

Speaking to the Mississippi Free Press, Bolivar County Deputy Coroner Murray Roark said on Monday: “I saw no broken limbs. 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.”

In a video posted on Facebook, Delta State University President Dan Ennis commented: “What we want to communicate to the community is that we know that as a university, we’re given a trust. People come here to learn. They come here to be safe, and they come here to thrive, and one of our students is gone, and we will never forget that. We continue to meet with and be in contact with Trey’s family. We give them our love and support and we know that we can never fully heal this wound.

“We are continuing to cooperate with investigators. We continue to make sure that all the information necessary is given to authorities. And we continue to hope for answers.”

Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said on Tuesday: “We must leave no stone unturned in the search for answers. While the details of this case are still emerging, we cannot ignore Mississippi’s painful history of lynching and racial violence against African Americans. My deepest condolences and prayers are with Trey’s family during this difficult time.”

In a post on Instagram, the NAACP said: “While initial reports offered no evidence of ‘foul play’, you’d have to excuse our skepticism amid growing racially motivated violence targeted at our communities across this nation. So while we await more formal autopsy reports and information, we offer this piece of history with a level of certainty: Our people have not historically hung ourselves from trees.”