Kaepernick funds independent autopsy in Delta State student’s death
Family seeks truth after Demartravion Reed’s death; coroner rules suicide; independent autopsy funded by Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative.
Colin Kaepernick is funding an independent autopsy for Demartravion 'Trey' Reed, a 21-year-old Delta State University student whose body was found Monday morning hanging from a tree near the campus pickleball courts in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals Jr. ruled Reed’s death a suicide on Thursday, and Delta State University police said there was no sign of foul play, with investigators reviewing campus surveillance video. Reed was a computer science major at Delta State.
Reed’s family, represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, had raised concerns about conflicting accounts and incomplete information surrounding the death. Crump said the Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative would fund a second, independent autopsy to examine the circumstances and determine the cause of death.
Crump described the death as a wound that the community must heal through truth and justice, and he thanked Kaepernick for supporting the family and the pursuit of truth.
Delta State University police Chief Michael Peeler said investigators are reviewing footage to determine what happened.
Jy’Quon Wallace, president of the school’s African American Student Council, said Reed had been seen Sunday night in a heated phone conversation and appeared upset hours before his death.
Wallace said Reed left toward Blansett Hall after the confrontation, and friends described him as agitated and making gestures during the encounter.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell condemned rumors circulating on social media that Reed had suffered injuries inconsistent with hanging, noting there was no verified evidence of foul play.
The case has drawn attention because of how Reed was found and because of ongoing concerns about handling information in such cases on campus and in the region.
Investigators and the independent autopsy will work to verify the timeline and clarify the cause, with the aim of offering closure to Reed’s family and the Delta State community.
