Combo photo shows the close-up shots of Malcolm Harsch (L) and Robert Fuller widely circulated on the Internet in recent days. [Photo/Xinhua]
Los Angeles County officials said Monday that an investigation is still pending on the cause of death of a young black man who was found hanging from a tree last week near City Hall in Palmdale, California.
"The initial report appeared to be consistent with a suicide. We feel it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper, which is why currently, officially, the case is still deferred and under investigation," said Dr Jonathan Lucas, the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner, during a news conference.
At approximately 3:36 am on June 10, paramedics in Palmdale, a small city in the Antelope Valley an hour's drive north of Hollywood, responded to a possible emergency and found Robert Fuller, 24. hanging from a tree in a city park.
Lucas said a full autopsy on Fuller was performed Friday. However, an independent assessment on the manner and cause of the death couldn't be made until toxicology results came in and after officials examined Fuller's medical history.
Fuller's case brought renewed attention to the death of Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old black man who was found hanged from a tree near a homeless encampment May 31 in Victorville, about 50 miles east of Palmdale. Authorities said a thorough investigation conducted at the scene found no evidence to suggest foul play.
Suspecting a possible connection to the Fuller case, an autopsy of Harsch was conducted Friday. "Although there remains no sign of foul play, the forensic pathologist is waiting for toxicology results before assigning the cause and manner of death," local law enforcement said in a statement.
Captain Kent Wegener of the LA County Sheriff's Department homicide division said officers will try to identify surveillance and home videos that could have captured the hanging of Fuller, in addition to interviewing family members and any witnesses.
Authorities will also contact Fuller's case worker from the social services department, though they didn't give a reason why Fuller had a case worker.
Fuller's death sparked protests from family and community members who said authorities had failed to conduct thorough investigations before rushing to label both deaths as suicides.
On Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered outside Palmdale City Hall and the park where Fuller was found hanged to mourn him and call for a thorough investigation into his death.
"Robert was a good little brother to us," said his sister, Diamond Alexander, in a video showed Saturday at the Palmdale rally. "Everything that they've been telling us has not been right. We've been hearing one thing. Then we hear another. And we just want to know the truth. My brother was not suicidal. He wasn't … my brother was a survivor.''
A GoFundMe campaign set up by Fuller's family to raise funds for his funeral has collected more than $210,000 in three days.
Protesters continued to gather in Palmdale on Monday to demand justice for Fuller. Residents brought up questions about racism and Fuller's death during a virtual town hall meeting organized by law enforcement agents Monday afternoon for area residents.
A community member who identified herself as Amanda Sullivan said during a call-in that she was concerned that there have been two hangings of black men, 50 miles apart, in two weeks.
"As a white woman, I'm ashamed of the police here, too," she said, adding that she wants to know what is being done to quell the fear that has struck at the heart of minority communities in the area.
Palmdale city officials issued a statement Saturday supporting the call for an independent investigation and independent autopsy of Fuller.
Following Monday's press conference, city officials issued another statement expressing gratitude for the coroner's office withdrawing its initial preliminary assessment of Fuller's death as a suicide.
