Lennon Lacy Death Investigated by FBI Amid Accusations of Lynching in North Carolina
Lennon Lacy, 17, was found hanged in Aug. and his family insists that he was lynched; the FBI just announced that they would be looking into the case to determine whether Lennon's death was self-inflicted or murder.
"That's all I've ever asked for: what is due, owed rightfully to me, and my family – justice. Prove to me what happened to my child," Claudia Lacy, mother of the deceased, told CNN.
Lennon was last seen on Aug. 28, when he left his home in Bladenboro, North Carolina, to exercise. When he didn't return home, his parents grew concerned, and at 7:30 the following morning, Lennon was found hanging from a swing set in the center of a park. Medical reports stated that he was covered in fire ants, adding to the sadness of the teen's death.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"When I saw him, I just knew automatically he didn't do that to himself," Claudia told The Associated Press. "If he was going to harm himself, his demeanor would have changed. His whole routine, everything, his attitude, everything would have changed."
A forensic scientist hired by the NAACP noticed several inconsistencies with the official report that ruled Lennon's death a suicide. First, Lennon was much shorter than the swing set from which he hung; how could he have gotten on top in order to place the belts used. Also, the belts themselves did not belong to Lennon and the shoes on his feet were two sizes too small.
"He's going to walk a quarter mile from his house in a pair of shoes that's two sizes too small after he takes off his new pair of shoes – and this is a 17-year-old black kid with a brand new pair of Jordans on. He's going to take those Jordan's off and just get rid of them and put on some shoes that's not his? We don't know where he got them from, no laces in them – and continue to walk down this dirt road late at night to a swing set in the middle of the trailer park and hang himself … How can I believe that?" Claudia Lacy asked.
Lennon's family believes that there was a rush put on the ruling of his death. Normally, toxicology reports take weeks, and in that time frame, the death is ruled as "pending." However, the medical examiner in this case immediately listed the death as "suicide."
Now the FBI is officially investigating the case, after Bladen County District Attorney Jon David told officials that the family and NAACP had information they would provide solely to federal authorities.
"Not only is the case open, but our minds are open," David told the AP.
