FBI investigates hanging of black man from tree in Mississippi

FOREST, Miss. — Federal and state agents are investigating the death of an African-American man found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee said the death of the 21-year-old is consistent with suicide and there’s no evidence of a racially-motivated crime. 

Lee said witnesses said the man fought with his girlfriend and threatened to hang himself shortly before he was found dead near her home south of Forest on Feb. 8.

The man’s family doesn’t believe he killed himself, and the NAACP in Mississippi wants a deeper investigation.

The Clarion Ledger identified the man as Willie Andrew Jones Jr. His family contacted the local chapter of the NAACP just one day after the hanging, Mississippi NAACP President Charles Hampton told the newspaper.

The FBI and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are participating in the probe. The sheriff said an initial autopsy cited death by hanging, but he’s awaiting more results.

Also, someone shot into the girlfriend’s house Wednesday, causing no injuries. That shooting is under investigation, too.