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 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.’
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 added to the outlet that Magee’s exact cause of death was not yet determined as his body was sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
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.