The hanging death of 17-year-old Lennon Lacy, ruled a suicide by police, brought protesters to the streets of Bladenboro, North Carolina, Saturday, who marched and accused police of failing to investigate properly.
Lacy's mother, Claudia Lacy, was active in the
peaceful protests, telling the Los Angeles Times that she wanted a more complete investigation done.
"There were a lot of things the investigators said that just didn't add up," Claudia Lacy told the newspaper, explaining that her son had on too-small tennis shoes that weren’t his and the belts he was hung with weren’t his either.
"Why wasn't this investigation taken seriously?" she asked the Times. "I want answers."
USA Today reported on Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate the case. The agency was asked to intervene after Claudia Lacy and the NAACP of North Carolina expressed concern about the way the investigation was handled.
The Bladen County District Attorney Jon David told the Times that the police investigation was "professional, thorough, and extensive."
"We need to make sure a comprehensive and professional investigation is done," David told reporters Friday. "We recognize the importance of the case to the community."
Dr. Christena L. Roberts, a private pathologist, examined evidence in Lacy’s death and criticized the way the body was processed and handled, the Times noted. For example, a local coroner said the boy wore white shoes, but when the body arrived at the medical examiner’s office, the shoes were gray and too small.
Roberts agreed that there were no head wounds visible and that there were ant bites on Lacy’s arms, which the family had been concerned about.
Claudia Lacy told CNN that she can accept the suicide verdict if the case is well investigated.
"There are too many questions and it very well could be a lynching or a staged lynching. We don't know — but what we do know is there has to be a serious and full investigation of these matters," Rev. William Barber, a national board member for the NAACP, told CNN.
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