The body of Malcolm Harsch, from Victorville, California, was found hanging from a tree near the Victorville City Library. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, there was no foul play and Harsch committed suicide.
Lynching or suicide?
According to a report in the Victor Valley News, the death of Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old black man, is still being investigated, but the chances of it being a suicide instead of a hate crime are high.
The spokeswoman from the Sheriff's Department, Jodi Miller, said that there were no indications at the scene that shows it was foul play, but the cause of his death and the manner are all still pending.
On May 31, the Victorville Fire Department discovered Harsch's body after they received a dispatch call. When the responders arrived at the scene, they found his body hanging from a tree.
Harsch's family, who is living in Ohio, said in a statement to Victor Valley News that they find it difficult to accept and believe that Harsch committed suicide. They said that he had conversations with his children about seeing them soon and that he did not show any signs of depression.
According to the family, they were told that Harsch had blood on his shirt and that there was no sign of any struggle at the scene. They also said that Harsch's body stayed at the San Bernardino County coroner's officers for 12 days before they performed an autopsy.
Similar incident
In Palmdale, California, a similar incident happened. Robert Fuller, a black man, was found hanging from a tree, and his case was also ruled out as suicide, as reported by ABC 7. Black Lives Matter protesters stormed the crime scene and offered prayers and held vigils.
The county leaders and city leaders are now calling for an independent investigation of Fuller's death after the outcry from the public, as Fuller's family and friends don't believe he committed suicide.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva hosted a virtual town hall on June 15 for two hours and the residents of Palmdale discussed the death of Robert Fuller and the investigation.
The public is suspecting that the deaths of the two black men are connected to the ongoing protest in the country against police brutality and racism. The fact that they are dangling from a tree is eerie similar to the execution-style that white Americans used on African Americans until the 1950s.
According to VOA News, people feared that the racist residents had lynched the two men, and it may not be the last incident as more black lives can be in danger since the police department refused to investigate further. The petition that demands the full investigation of the death of Robert Fuller had reached 215,000 signatures as of June 14.
On June 12, the residents of Palmdale made it clear at a news conference that they do not trust the local authorities as they think they won't investigate Fuller's death properly. The public wants an independent investigation and transparency, as they believe that no black man would hang himself in public.
