Updated Monday at 3:30 p.m.
State and federal authorities will monitor the investigation into the death of a black man found hanging from a tree in the Southern California city of Palmdale, officials said Monday following large weekend protests.
Robert Fuller’s body was found the previous Wednesday morning in Poncitlán Square in Palmdale. The 24-year-old’s death was deemed a likely suicide based on preliminary findings, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
But Fuller’s family and supporters are pushing back against the department’s assessment, saying his death appears to be a lynching. A growing number of residents and officials in Los Angeles County are demanding answers.
The state attorney general’s office and the FBI’s Civil Rights Division will oversee the investigation into Fuller’s death, which is being led by the Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide bureau, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
The coroner’s office has completed an autopsy but is awaiting toxicology results, Dr. Jonathan Lucas said. Investigators are also looking at Fuller’s medical history. Homicide detectives plan to analyze the rope and its knot, canvass the area for video footage, interview Fuller’s social services case worker and speak to anyone who had recently interacted with him.
They are also seeking to meet with Fuller’s family, authorities said.
Fuller’s death came 10 days after another black man was found hanging from a tree about 50 miles away in Victorville.
On Monday, the state Senate began its session with a moment of silence for Fuller and Malcolm Harsch. The death of Harsch, the 38-year-old black man who was found on May 31, came to light after Fuller’s case. Harsch’s family told the Victor Valley News on Saturday that “the explanation of suicide does not seem plausible.”
Villanueva said his investigators will consult with San Bernardino detectives to see if there are any commonalities between the deaths of the two men.
Community’s Call for Justice Grows
On Saturday, hundreds gathered in the park where Fuller’s body was found demanding an investigation into his death. Throughout the day, protesters marched through the city’s major thoroughfares and to the Palmdale’s Sheriff Station.