A grieving family is demanding answers after a 21-year-old truck driver was found dead on a rural road with a rope around his neck – as police insist he ‘wasn’t lynched.’
Javion Magee, 21, from Chicago, was found on September 11 in North Carolina, appearing to have been hung with his back leaning up against a tree, sparking speculation that he may have been racially targeted.
The truck driver’s death captured attention this week as his cousin shared a TikTok bringing attention to the tragedy, where she accused officials of dragging their feet in the investigation and claimed Javion’s mother couldn’t even identify his body.
In response, Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame said he became aware of accusations his office was ‘not being transparent, not providing information to the family – and that is not true.’
‘There’s been information put out there that there’s a lynching, there is not a lynching,’ he insisted.
‘The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope, so therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County.’
Javion Magee, 21, from Chicago, was found on September 11 in North Carolina with a rope around his neck and his back leaning up against a tree, sparking speculation that he was ‘lynched’ that officials have rejected
Javion’s family accused officials of dragging their feet in the investigation of his death and claimed Javion’s mother couldn’t even identify his body
North Carolina officials have not made any arrests in connection with Magee’s death, and Brame told ABC11 that there were no signs of foul play.
He declined to brand Magee’s passing as a suicide at this stage, and his exact cause of death was not yet determined as his body was sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
Brame also indicated that the FBI was joining the investigation into the 21-year-old’s death.
In her TikTok video, Javion’s cousin explained that he lives in Chicago, but was in North Carolina as part of his work as a truck driver.
She claimed that police told her family Javion had been to Walmart to buy a rope ‘and hung himself.’
‘We obviously don’t believe that,’ she explained.
Police have not made any arrests in connection with Magee’s death, and have claimed that there were no signs of foul play at the scene
While the police investigation is ongoing, Magee’s family said they are dissatisfied with the response from authorities in the days since he was found dead.
His cousin continued in her appeal: ‘We really need your help… the police officers and coroner’s office are giving us a hard time.’
She claimed that the coroner’s office is ‘not allowing his mom to identify the body’, and was given the excuse that it was ‘due to Covid.’
It is not explained why the Covid-19 pandemic would prevent Magee’s mother from identifying his body, and the Vance County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
His cousin went on to say Magee’s mother instead asked for pictures to verify his death, only to allegedly be told she wouldn’t ‘want to see your son like that.’
‘This is just devastating for my family, and we really need to push this story out there,’ she concluded.
