The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled Tuesday a hanging of a black man in Greensboro a suicide.
The man, Roosevelt Champion III, 43, was last seen Sunday evening by family members. He was questioned twice last week by Greensboro police investigating the murder of a local white woman but had not been charged, said GBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Wooten.
Due to current tensions nationwide between law enforcement and the black community, on Monday after the body was discovered, Wooten promised greater transparency with the media and expedited the autopsy.
"We're very aware of the attention this is receiving," Wooten said Monday. "The public deserves answers. This is a very big issue in a small community like this."
Police discovered a relatively new “orange ratchet strap” around Champion’s neck. Neither his feet nor hands were bound, Wooten said.
Champion’s body was found behind a residence, not his, in the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Greensboro, about 75 miles east of Atlanta. Wooten said his knees were slightly buckled, his feet, dragging the ground.
A neighbor told Channel 2 Action News Champion was “stressed out” following the interviews with police.
Last week, he was questioned in the case of Carol Renee Edwards Lewis, 54, who had been found dead May 2 at her home about three blocks away from where Champion’s body was discovered Monday, Wooten told the Los Angeles Times.
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