Community leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, are demanding justice for Juliana Umba Nzita, a 16-year-old girl who was found hanged near a predominantly Black church in May. The teen was found with a ratchet strap tied around her neck and her feet resting on the ground near a small chair, The Grio reported. Although it has been nearly four months since a man named Kenneth Tolbert found Nzita near the church while walking his dog, the teen’s supporters say they still don’t have answers about her case.
The family of Juliana Umba Nzita disputes the autopsy report
While the medical examiner concluded that Nzita died by suicide, her family doubts the findings.
Nzita’s uncle Mathy Nzita told the Charlotte Observer that police closed the case without completing an autopsy.
“This is the U.S. This is not a third-world country,” Mathy told The Observer.
Tolbert also said he doubts the medical examiner’s report. Speaking with The Observer, Tolbert said he doubts that Juliana could have climbed the tree limb, which would be even more difficult for him to do at 5-foot-9. If it were “a white girl found hanging at a Myers Park church,” the response would be more serious, Tolbert added.
What’s next in the case of Juliana Umba Nzita?
Nzita’s family is now proceeding with its own independent autopsy, led by civil rights attorney Jill Collen Jefferson. The family is also getting support from council members Kimberly Owens and JD Mazuera Arias, who said the situation is “unacceptable” and “grotesque.”
“The death of a young woman of color, after having been missing for several days, found hanged in a tree of a church is something that merits a different approach,” Owens wrote in an email to city administrators, per The Observer.
Nzita’s supporters also started an online petition to demand that investigators reopen her case.
“Let us unite in bringing justice to Juliana Nzita and her family. Her case needs to be reopened and with a thorough investigation,” the petition states. “Sign this petition to demand action, clarity, and accountability from those in power. It is time to bring justice home, to Juliana’s family and to our community.”