BUZZ
Celebrity attorney teamed up with former quarterback to promote theory that black student was lynched
The family of a black student found dead by hanging last fall is still waiting for a celebrity attorney to release the “independent autopsy” paid for by Colin Kaepernick.
In mid-September 2025, Delta State University student Demartravion “Trey” Reed, was found hanging from a tree on the Mississippi campus, as The College Fix previously reported. Within three days of Reed’s death, the state medical examiner concluded and released a statement on its autopsy report, which confirmed the findings of the local coroner.
However, a group of black activists began circulating a theory that someone or a group of people actually lynched Reed. They came to this conclusion partially because Reed (pictured, right) was found 50 miles away from where Emmitt Till was lynched 70 years prior.
Then entered Benjamin Crump, an attorney who usually shows up when there is a high-profile killing of a black citizen such as Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri or George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Along with a Kaepernick-backed group, Crump (pictured, left) said he would order his own autopsy to find out the real reason Reed died.
“I stand with this family, and I will lead a team of civil rights leaders and organizations in pursuing transparency and answers for Trey’s family,” Crump promised last September.
His family is still waiting on that transparency, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
“Crump’s team told The Clarion Ledger on Oct. 2, 2025, that the autopsy report had not been finalized. No details would be released until it was,” the newspaper reported. “A reporter asked for an update on March 30, 2026. As of April 6, the news team has not received an update about the final report.”
Though Crump ostensibly represents Reed’s family, members say he is making the situation worse.
“In a statement released April 2 by Reed’s grandmother, Sharon Candy Tillman, the Tillman and Reed family said the lack of communication has made their grief worse,” the newspaper reported.
The newspaper reported further:
“Since Trey’s passing, we have been waiting for answers — specifically, the results of the independent autopsy that we were told would bring clarity,” the statement said. “To this day, we have not received an official update.”
They also raised concerns about what they described as silence from their legal representation.
“This lack of communication has only deepened our pain and confusion,” the statement said. “We’re concerned that our legal representation has been silent during a time when we need transparency, advocacy and guidance the most.”
The controversy has been rife with false claims, leading Reed’s family to “[ask] people not to spread information that does not come directly from them.”
Between October and November 2025, The Fix also sought answers from Crump.
The College Fix reached out to Crump’s office four times by phone in a three week period, but was met with an automated response every time. The Fix also sent requests for a statement by email and web submission four times but received no response.
The Fix then attempted to contact the Know Your Rights Camp, Kaepernick’s group, for comment on Reed’s case but received no response by email.
Black Lives Matter groups and black-oriented news sites also circulated unverified claims about the results of the autopsy last fall, as The Fix reported.
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