‘NO Evidence of Foul Play’ Means Ben Crump Shows Up Anyway

By all accounts, little Cleveland, Mississippi, is, yeah, tiny – around fourteen thousand people – but it seems to be chock full of character and oozing with Mississippi Delta history.

The Visit Cleveland website looks as if they stole the pictures from Hallmark movies, or Hallmark stole their sets from the city; it’s that appealing.

According to local history, B.B. King has said that American Blues started at a place called ‘Dockery Farms’ just outside the Cleveland city limits, which is now a museum.

Cleveland (population 13,841), the county seat of Bolivar County, is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta region halfway between Memphis and Vicksburg. First settled in the mid-1800s, the community experienced an economic boom following the coming of the railroad in 1884. As the surrounding swamps were drained and the land cleared for timber, more and more settlers came in with the railroad, and Cleveland prospered.

In 1915, Delta Teachers College was established, which grew to be Delta State University. The Delta Center for Culture and Learning on the Delta State campus promotes the study of the Delta’s history and culture, including the birth of blues music. Dockery Plantation near Cleveland was the home of several influential blues musicians such as Charlie Patton during the early 1900s.

Downtown Cleveland is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district, and a portion of that area is also protected by local ordinance as the Crosstie Historic District. The name of the district reflects the importance of the railroad to the community’s history, and the City has partnered with the Bolivar County Library System to rehabilitate the historic railroad depot (1915) for use as a library and literacy center.

These impressive American music credentials have also allowed little Cleveland to claim the only other sanctioned GRAMMY Museum outside of Los Angeles in the country.

Besides the tourists, Mississippi’s Delta State University is a major presence in town. With a pretty diverse student body of around 4000, in watching a little video quizzing random students on their majors, it seems the university offers degrees in everything from music (Go figure, right?) to nursing to flight operations. Importantly, in this day and age, the Division 2 state school – aka ‘The Fighting Okra‘ – is also relatively affordable, with a high acceptance rate and undergrad semester tuition around $4200 and board a shade less.

Cleveland is considered one of the nicest, safest small towns in Mississippi.

Sadly, that idyllic image took a brutal shock to center mass when the body of an incoming freshman – Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, of Grenada – was found by a university staffer hanging from a tree by the pickleball courts Monday morning.

It’s an awful, horrible story.

The campus police chief and university president apparently got out in front of it as quickly as they could, once they had any information on what had happened, in order to address a frightened student body.

A Delta State University student in Cleveland Mississippi was found dead, hanging from a tree on Monday. The deceased student has been identified as Demartravion (“Trey”) Reed. Officials say there is no evidence of foul play and no ongoing threat to campus safety. pic.twitter.com/bBCJvLK0vH

— Gary Burton JR (@GaryBurton_JR) September 15, 2025

“At approximately 7:05 am, University Police was notified of what appeared to be the body of a Black male hanging from a tree (at) central campus near the DSU pickleball course,” said Delta State University Chief of Police Michael Peeler. “We later identified the male subject to be Demartravion Reed of Grenada, Mississippi.”

The University president shared the coroner’s report that there appeared to be ‘no indications of foul play’ and authorities were sadly concluding it had been a suicide.

…The Bolivar County Coroner’s office released a statement late on Monday, Sept. 15 in response to the death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, who officials said committed suicide on the Cleveland campus of Delta State University, earlier that day.

DSU president Dan Ennis said that, despite the details of a hanging of a 21-year-old Black man in the Mississippi Delta, there no evidence of foul play involved.

Somehow, this tragic, God awful incident has taken on a life of its own, and imaginations are running wild. There are firm assertions that everyone knows black men do not ‘unalive themselves’ (whut?) and that a campus lynching is being purposefully covered up.

Wild rumors are flying through social media that this poor young man had both legs broken, besides other injuries suffered in a beating so horrific that he would have been unable to kill himself, had he wanted to.

The coroner has already dispelled those spiraling conspiracy fantasies, to no avail.

The Bolivar County coroner says they are conducting a thorough death investigation.

Randolph Seals, Jr. says 21-year old Demartravion “Trey” Reed did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones or injuries consistent with an assault. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death,” said Seals, Jr.

Authorities say Reed’s body was found hanging from a tree by a faculty member near the pickleball courts Monday around 7 a.m.

The discovery led to all classes being canceled.

Word spread quickly throughout the Cleveland campus, leaving students and others concerned and worried.

“Well, because I am a Black student, hearing that happened to another black student, it really makes me feel unsafe,” said DSU student Stacie Hoskins.

There is no explanation for the continued manufacturing of hysterical claims until a final report from the medical examiner.

UPDATE‼️The statement reads… “at this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death. The remains of the deceased are in the care of the coroner’s office and will be transported to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an autopsy.”

— Gary Burton JR (@GaryBurton_JR) September 16, 2025

They are indulging in a white supremacy conspiracy orgy online that isn’t making any sense for the most basic of reasons.

The city itself is a majority black city.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Cleveland, MS are Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (52.5%), White (Non-Hispanic) (40.4%), Two Races Including Other (Non-Hispanic) (3.25%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (2.34%), and Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) (1.02%).

The campus police chief is black. The coroner, Rudy Seals Jr, is black.

It seems like of all the places in the country for this not to happen, Cleveland would top that list as a wonderful place for everyone to live and feel safe.

But waiting on the answers from the forensic experts isn’t enough for perpetually angry people with axes to grind.

Understandably, Trey Reed’s heartbroken family is angry.

The family of Demartravion “Trey” Reed is seeking an independent autopsy following the Delta State University student’s death on Monday, when his body was found hanging in a tree on campus. At a press event at Living Faith Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ in Grenada late Tuesday afternoon, Vanessa J. Jones of the Jones Law Firm, who is representing the Reed family, told the media that the family is still waiting for answers.

“The family does not know exactly what happened on September the 15th of 2025,” she said. “We are seeking answers from Delta State University. We’re seeking answers from the coroner’s office.”

And into all the vitriol and race-based accusations beginning to boil, rides you-know-who.

We’ve been retained by the family of Demartravion “Trey” Reed — the 21-year-old Delta State University student whose body was found hanging from a tree.

Trey was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him. His family and the campus… pic.twitter.com/aaE88MRy0G

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 16, 2025

…Trey was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply loved and respected by all who knew him. His family and the campus community deserve a full, independent investigation to uncover the truth about what happened.   

We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many questions remain. I stand with this family, and I will lead a team of civil rights leaders and organizations in pursuing transparency and answers for Trey’s family.  

‘Vague conclusion’? What is ‘vague’ about ‘no signs of foul play’ and a complete and outright dismissal of all the rumors of heinous bodily injuries?

Crump is being excoriated, as well he should.

This was a suicide. You should leave this young man and his family out of your political agenda.https://t.co/xXUFKWONHG pic.twitter.com/rDDKghvk8m

— Abby (@NoCRTinSchools) September 17, 2025

And for an obvious, sensationalized, racist hunt that is doomed to failure.

pic.twitter.com/jglRkJNzm7

— SAHARA RENEE 🇺🇸 (@renee1928maga) September 17, 2025

Tragically, there were two men found hanging in Mississippi on Monday. The other was a homeless white guy.

Investigations are ongoing after the hanging deaths of two men were reported Monday in Mississippi.

The deaths were reported on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland and in Vicksburg, cities which are more than 100 miles apart. The victims were identified as 21-year-old Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a Black student at Delta State, and Cory Zukatis, a white man.

Investigations into both deaths are ongoing. Rumors and speculation about the incidents have spread on social media, likely fueled by Mississippi’s painful history of racist violence in the Jim Crow era, The Associated Press reports.

Vicksburg Police said Monday the deaths of Reed and Zukatis were not related.

Ben Crump hasn’t answered any of the comments asking if he’ll represent the ‘un-alived’ homeless fellow’s family…if they can find them.

I hope Trey Reed’s family gets the truth and can find some peace in a terrible time.

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