On Thursday, it was confirmed that Robert Fuller–a Black man who was found hanging from a tree near Los Angeles, died by suicide, last month.
According to ABC7, there were no signs of struggle or defensive wounds observed.
“There were no signs of a struggle. No defensive wounds observed, and no other signs of trauma visible to Mr. Fuller,” said Cmdr. Chris Marks with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“The DNA results were returned from the ligatures and the fingernails of Mr. Fuller. The quantitative results for each tested sample indicated that the predominant contributor for each sample belonged to Mr. Fuller,” he said.
At the time his body was discovered, no evidence of a crime was found. An autopsy was also conducted the next day that determined the death was a suicide.
According to those who knew Robert, he was an upbeat person and wouldn’t have taken his own life. It was reported the family felt authorities were too quick to dismiss the possibility of a crime, and many also believed this was a result of a lynching.
As a result, an attorney was hired and stated an independent autopsy would be conducted, and the FBI and state attorney general’s office pledged to monitor the investigation.
The investigation also revealed that Fuller suffered from mental illness and had thoughts of taking his own life previously. It was also reported that the 24-year-old checked himself into a mental health facility, once before.
Fuller’s family didn’t have a comment, at the time the official findings were announced.
As we previously reported, Fuller’s body was found around 4AM on June 10th hanging from a tree in Poncitlan Square, according to Lt. Brandon Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.
Our condolences to the family.
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