The death of 24-year-old African-American man, Robert Fuller, has become a subject of controversy near Palmdale City Hall in California.
Fuller was found hanging on a tree by a passerby who raised an alarm on June 10.
Although preliminary investigations by city authorities showed that the victim died by suicide, his community members and family disagree.
Los Angeles County Sheriff, Captain Ron Shaffer stated that “although the investigation is ongoing, it appears that Mr. Fuller has tragically died by suicide”.
However, family and friends of the deceased tagged the death a homicide, linking it to possible hate crime or lynching.
A cousin of the deceased, Pernisha Theus, said the family would not allow the case get ” swept under the rug”.
She hinted that the family would get its own report for the autopsy carried out on the deceased and hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Whatever we have to do to find out the truth, that’s what we’re going to do,” Ms. Theus said.
Watch a CBS video on the incident:
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