Local News

Federal Investigation Into African-American Hanging Death Concludes Without Charges

WFAE | By Michael Tomsic,

Michael Tomsic

Published June 16, 2016 at 5:31 PM EDT

Nearly two years after a 17-year-old African-American was found dead, hanging from a swing set in eastern North Carolina, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it will not pursue criminal charges.

Local law enforcement ruled Lennon Lacy's death a suicide in 2014. The case eventually received national attention. The North Carolina NAACP called for a federal investigation, and hundreds of protesters marched in Bladenboro, a small town in eastern North Carolina.

The U.S. Justice Department has now concluded that investigation and released a statement that includes this:

"After a careful and thorough review by a team of experienced federal prosecutors and FBI agents, the Justice Department found no evidence to suggest that Lacy’s death was a homicide. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed."

Federal officials notified Lacy's family of their decision first.

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Michael Tomsic

Michael Tomsic became a full-time reporter for WFAE in August 2012. Before that, he reported for the station as a freelancer and intern while he finished his senior year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Heââ

See stories by Michael Tomsic

Michael Tomsic

Michael Tomsic covers health care, voting rights, NASCAR, peach-shaped water towers and everything in between. He drivesWFAE'shealth care coverage through a partnership with NPR and Kaiser Health News. He became a full-time reporter forWFAEin August 2012. Before that, he reported for the station as a freelancer and intern while he finished his senior year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He interned with Weekends on All Things Considered in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to the show’s cover stories, produced interviews withNasand BranfordMarsalis, and reported a story about a surge of college graduates joining the military. AtUNC, he was the managing editor of the student radio newscast, Carolina Connection. He got his start in public radio as an intern withWHQRin Wilmington, N.C., where he grew up.