The death of Robert Fuller, the 24-year-old Black man who was found hanged from a tree last month, was ruled a suicide Thursday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. Fuller was one of several Black men found hanging from trees across the country in June at the height of Black Lives Matter protests.
Fuller was found just miles from another Black man who allegedly hanged himself from a tree, Malcolm Harschin of Victorville, CA. Harsch’s death was also ruled a suicide, and the San Bernarndino County Sheriff’s Department stated that there was no foul play involved.
Two black men were found hanged from trees in California. The deaths occurred 10 days and 50 miles apart. The family of Robert Fuller is demanding an investigation and the family of Malcom Harsch has started conducting their own. pic.twitter.com/wF3A3LnIUt
— NoJusticeNoPeace (@User1312_) July 5, 2020
On June 10, Fuller’s body was found in the early morning in Palmdale, CA. Authorities revealed that there were no attempts of struggle or resistance present on his body.
The rope that was used in Fuller’s death was identified as a purchase on Fuller’s card from May 14. Investigators believe that the position of the rope was not an indicator that he was hoisted up the tree and said that because there were no chairs or ladders present, Fuller likely climbed up the tree himself.
The sheriff’s Commander Chris Marks revealed that, “There were no signs of a struggle, no defensive wounds observed, and no other signs of trauma visible to Mr. Fuller.”
“Mr. Fuller’s hands were not bound and there were no signs that he attempted to remove the ligature from his neck,” Marks added.
Robert Fuller didn’t kill himself. Black people aren’t hanging themselves from trees. That’s called lynching. And it’s murder. A hate crime. There’s really no cameras in front of City Hall? Cmon. https://t.co/auv15EAd8L
— Alex Hayley. (@growithayley) July 9, 2020
Fuller had previous struggles with mental health, and cuts on Fuller’s wrists led investigators to believe that Fuller was struggling with suicidal thoughts at the time of his death.
Despite the sheriff’s ruling, there still appears to be legitimate reason to suspect foul play. Namely, the notion that Fuller climbed into a tree to hang himself seems suspect, and so does the fact that the purchase of the rope was made more than a month before he allegedly killed himself.
nobody hangs themselves from a fucking tree. saying it was a suicide is so disrespectful to fuller and his family and just so disgusting. JUSTICE FOR ROBERT https://t.co/Uj8aPqmOjT
— marz (@marzywarzy) July 10, 2020
