CLEVELAND, Miss. — The Bolivar County coroner says a preliminary death investigation shows no sign of broken bones or evidence of an assault against a Delta State University (DSU) student whose body was found hanging from a tree Monday.
The body of De’Martravion “Trey” Reed, a 21-year-old, first-year student from Grenada, Mississippi, was found around 7:30 a.m., hanging from a tree near the pickleball courts.
The county coroner’s office arrived around 8 a.m. and pronounced Reed dead.
“Based on the preliminary examination, we can confirm that the deceased did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with an assault,” the coroner’s office said in a statement released Tuesday. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death.”
His remains will now go to the Mississippi State Crime Lab for an autopsy.
Delta State officials said Monday there is no evidence suggesting any foul play in Reed’s death, and no threat to the campus. They are continuing to investigate.
Reed’s mother told WREG she has many questions about what happened because she spoke to her son on Friday, and he was excited to attend Delta State.
Bolivar County Coroner Randolph “Rudy” Seals Jr. offered his condolences to the family and asked for patience as agencies investigate facts.
The President of DSU, Daniel Ennis, issued a statement regarding the coroner’s report:
“Delta State University is aware of the statement released overnight by the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office. We continue to cooperate with law enforcement in their investigation. Our focus remains on supporting Trey’s family, friends, and the Delta State community as we continue to grieve this loss together.”
Lawyers representing the family of “Trey” Reed held a news conference Tuesday.
“Given the multiple conflicting accounts of how Trey died, our law firm will begin our investigation by ordering an independent autopsy. Trey’s family is not willing to accept any cause of death until they have been presented with all of the facts that will be independently verified through our own investigation,” Attorney Vanessa Jones said in a statement.
She said later at a news conference that the president of Delta State had not reached out to the family. The family will seek answers independently on what happened.
“As we move forward, we’re just looking for answers that a simple camera on the university’s campus would answer,” she said. “The media knew about his death before Trey’s family did.”
Trey, a first-year student, had only been on campus one month when he died, Jones said.
Trey’s uncle, who is the pastor of the church where the news conference was held, said the family was hearing mixed messages through the media and was just looking for truth.
“If this man was on the campus of DSU with all these cameras and all this modern technology, from the moment he left his dorm room or entered that campus — there should be surveillance of all his actions and that’s what we want,” said Attorney Jones.