From Hanging Tree to Broken Bone Records: The Mystery of Demarravian “Trey” Reed’s Death Unveils Mississippi’s Bloody History

On September 15, 2025, the death of Demarravian “Trey” Reed, a promising 21-year-old African American student at Delta State University (DSU), not only sparked outrage in the community but also set off a bitter confrontation between a grieving family and Mississippi law enforcement. The police’s official story of a “suicide” fell apart in the face of conflicting evidence, brutal injuries to the victim’s body, and the indelible ghost of the area’s history of lynching black people.

Immediately after Trey Reed was found hanged from a tree near the school’s pickleball courts, the Mississippi State Police Department and DSU campus police issued a quick and unequivocal statement: “There is no evidence of foul play” and ruled the case a suicide. However, this stance was immediately rejected by Trey’s family, who have publicly alleged a horrific cover-up. To them, this was not a personal tragedy, but a brutal act of racial violence in the form of a lynching.

Inconsistencies in Testimony: From the Dormitory to the Hanging Tree

The first piece of evidence that undermined the official story came from the family’s attorney, Vanessa J. Jones. Ms. Jones revealed a horrifying detail: when the police contacted the family to inform them of Trey’s death, they said Trey was found dead in his dorm room, in his bed .

The police official story, however, quickly shifted to Trey being found hanging from a tree . This fundamental discrepancy in where the body was found raised serious suspicions. When Delta State University Public Safety Director Mike Pellet was questioned at a recent press conference, he vehemently denied that his department had ever issued a statement about finding Trey in his dorm room, implying that the family was lying.

The discrepancy is clear evidence that something is being hidden. A dead person cannot appear in two different places; the shifting accounts of the authorities suggest they are trying to patch together a hastily constructed official story.

Undeniable Signs of Violence

What led the family and community to believe that Trey was the victim of a violent attack was the condition of his body. Trey’s cousin went public on TikTok, claiming that Trey was found with multiple broken bones and shattered limbs —specifically both arms, one leg, and a broken neck .

This is the key detail that completely disproves the “suicide” theory. How could a person end his life by hanging himself with such violent injuries as broken arms and legs?

Although the police released a preliminary autopsy report, once again stating that there were no “lacerations, bruises, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with a physical assault,” no one bought the story. The public believed that the police were trying to repeat the “no crime” statement over and over again to tire people out and stop asking questions.

Because of the overwhelming distrust of Mississippi investigators, Trey’s family decided to have an independent autopsy performed . They knew full well that, in this context, any autopsy performed by Mississippi police would likely be manipulated to fit the “suicide” scenario they had been pushing from the start.

The Dark Shadows of Racist History

The community’s suspicions were not unfounded. They were reinforced by Mississippi’s horrific history of racism. During the Jim Crow era (1877 to 1950), Mississippi held the record for the highest number of lynchings of black people in the American South, with 581 recorded cases.

In particular, the tragic event of Emmett Till in 1955 – a 14-year-old boy brutally murdered and hanged in the Mississippi Delta – remains a painful and indelible scar. After the mid-20th century, many hangings or suspicious deaths of black people continued, but most were ruled “suicides” by local authorities – just like the case of Trey Reed.

When a young black man is found hanged from a tree on a college campus, this historical context immediately causes people to reject the police’s conclusions. It makes people ask: was this an act of violent racial terrorism disguised as a suicide to protect the perpetrator?

Delta State University’s Alarming Silence

Delta State University’s accountability is also a major issue in this case. Sources say Trey repeatedly reported to the school that he was racially targeted and harassed by white students. He endured slurs such as being called a “monkey” by a group of white students traveling in a van.

Yet, according to the story, DSU did nothing to stop these acts of racial bullying. The school’s previous inaction is now seen as complicity, making the school environment an unsafe place, leading to Trey’s eventual death.

In response to these suspicions, attorney Jones has aggressively demanded that DSU release all of the campus security camera footage from the day of the incident. With modern surveillance technology, it is unthinkable that a student would disappear and be murdered (or commit suicide) in the middle of campus without any photographic evidence. The refusal or delay in releasing the footage only fuels the belief that a cover-up is underway.

The War Continues

The community is demanding transparency and justice, asking the police to investigate in a way that “leaves no stone unturned”. They emphasize that “no suspicion” (as the police say) is one thing, but “not even suspecting” (as the community is doing) is willful blindness.

One family’s hearts were broken, but they were not alone. Trey Reed’s death became a symbol of the fight against injustice and systemic racism, not just in Mississippi, but across America. Until an independent autopsy is released and surveillance footage is made public, the police “suicide” story will forever be seen as a despicable cover-up.

The fight for justice for Trey Reed, for accountability from DSU and for honesty from the police, continues. The community and family are determined not to let this case be swept under the rug like hundreds of other questionable lynchings in Mississippi’s dark past.