Federal investigators have closed their case into the death of a teen from Bladenboro, North Carolina. According to The Fayetteville Observer, they will also not pursue civil rights charges. 17-year-old Lennon Lacy was founding hanging from a swing set in 2014, and many people believed that he was lynched in a hate crime.
Over the past couple of years, Lacy’s family has questioned many things about the case and the circumstances of his death, including the shoes he was wearing. They say that the shoes found on him after his death were not his, among other things.
A pathologist hired by the NAACP also questions how Lacy, a nearly 200 lb. teen, would have been able to hang himself in that manner. There are also conflicting reports about what happened at the scene.
There have also been claims that Lacy’s involvement with a 31-year-old white woman may have led someone to plot and kill him. Additionally, the Bladen County area has been subject to Ku Klux Klan activity for many years.
After his death, Lacy’s grave and memorial site were desecrated and a whole was dug in front of his grave.
He would have graduated from his school this spring.
