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Colin Kaepernick funding independent autopsy for black student found hanging from tree at Mississippi college
By
Patrick Reilly
Published Sep. 19, 2025, 9:31 a.m. ET
Controversial fired NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is paying for an independent autopsy for a black student who was found hanging from a tree on his Mississippi college campus — after the student’s family challenged the official ruling of suicide.
Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, was found dead Monday morning hanging from a tree near the pickleball courts at Delta State University in Cleveland, according to police.
The county coroner officially ruled Thursday that Reed died of suicide, and police have said no foul play was suspected, teasing that they had video of the student’s tragic ending.
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Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, was found dead hanging from a tree at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.Family Handout
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Colin Kaepernick is funding an independent autopsy after Reed’s family “raised serious concerns” about his death “after receiving conflicting accounts and incomplete information about the cause of his death.”Getty Images for Raising Cane's
However, Reed’s family has “raised serious concerns” about his death “after receiving conflicting accounts and incomplete information about the cause of his death,” according to Ben Crump, the high-profile civil rights attorney now representing them.
Crump said Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative” will fund a second, independent autopsy.
“Trey’s death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths. Peace will come only by getting to the truth,” Crump said in a statement.
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“We thank Colin Kaepernick for supporting this grieving family and the cause of justice and truth.”
Reed’s death sparked controversies because of the way he was found hanged, with rumors he suffered broken bones.
However, Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals Jr.
said earlier this week that Reed “did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones or injuries consistent with an assault.”
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said, “I condemn the rumors circulating regarding [Reed’s] death.”
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Reed’s friends and family gather to pray after a law enforcement briefing on Sept. 17, 2025, in Cleveland, Miss.AP
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Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative” will fund a second, independent autopsy.Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Delta State University Police Chief Michael Peeler said investigators are reviewing footage to determine what happened to the computer science major.
Jy’Quon Wallace, president of the school’s African American Student Council, said he saw Reed on Sunday night having a heated discussion on the phone just hours before his death.
“I could tell he was real upset. He was making gestures and was acting like he was throwing stuff. He would kick the wall and then he stormed off toward Blansett Hall,” Wallace
told the Clarion Ledger.
“He was just out of it. He was real upset, and I had never seen him like that before.”
