Headline Roundup • September 17th, 2025
Black Student Found Hanging from Tree in MS; Bias Dominates Coverage
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Demartravion “Trey” Reed was reportedly found hanging from a tree at his university campus in Cleveland, Mississippi on Monday. His death quickly sparked widespread media bias and social media speculation due to the 21-year-old black student’s race and the case’s alleged lack of clarity and transparency.
The Details: Delta State University Police Chief Michael Peeler said there was no evidence of foul play – a statement parallel to that of Coroner Randolph Seals. However, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asserted in a post, “A man was lynched yesterday,” with the caption stating, “You’d have to excuse our skepticism amidst growing racially motivated violence targeted at our communities across this nation. So while we await more formal autopsy reports and information, we offer this piece of history with a level of certainty: Our people have not historically hung ourselves from trees…” The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was reportedly brought on to the ongoing investigation.
Clarity Controversy: Reed’s family called for an independent autopsy and the release of campus surveillance videos. The family’s lawyer alleged, “The media knew before the family did,” and that the Grenada County Sheriff’s Department initially said Reed’s body was found in his dorm room bed. While the lawyer made no formal accusations, she noted “possible constitutional violations of releasing Trey’s name to the media immediately after it happened.”
How The Media Covered It: AllSides found no independent coverage from Right-rated media at the time of this publishing. Though some outlets hosted articles from other sources, many exhibited bias by omission. Left and Center-rated outlets often covered the story sensationally, largely framing coverage around Reed’s race and outside speculations despite no initial evidence of criminal activity.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
The death of a 21-year-old Black student whose body was found hanging from a tree on a university campus in Mississippi has sparked outrage and allegations online, even after officials said there was no evidence of foul play.
Police were notified Monday morning about the body found near the pickleball courts at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, university police Chief Michael Peeler said at a news conference later that day.
He said the body was identified as that of Demartravion “Trey” Reed.
Although Peeler said there was no evidence...
On Monday, two hanging deaths were reported in Mississippi, one in Vicksburg and another on the campus of Delta State University.
Around 7 a.m., the body of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, a Black student at Delta State, was found hanging from a tree on the university’s campus.
In an official statement from the Bolivar County Coroner’s Office, Coroner Randolph Seals said that Reed was not suffering from any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones, or injuries consistent with assault.
Seals said the incident took place sometime on Sunday.
He also...
Kevin Edwards, Mississippi Free Press
The family of Demartravion “Trey” Reed is seeking an independent autopsy following the Delta State University student’s death on Monday, when his body was found hanging in a tree on campus. At a press event at Living Faith Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ in Grenada late Tuesday afternoon, Vanessa J. Jones of the Jones Law Firm, who is representing the Reed family, told the media that the family is still waiting for answers.
“The family does not know exactly what happened on September the 15th of 2025,” she...
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