When an initial finding of suicide was made in the death of Robert Fuller, who had been found hanging from a tree in a California park, the family refused to believe it. They claimed Fuller was not suicidal and that his death should be investigated as a lynching.
The family commissioned an independent autopsy and their findings have now matched the Los Angeles County Coroner’s conclusion; death by suicide, no foul play.
Dr. Marvin Pietruszka, a pathologist who examined Fuller’s body at the request of his family, found no signs of trauma significant enough to indicate a struggle or any foul play, according to Jamon Hicks, a lawyer representing the family. While Pietruszka has yet to officially determine the cause of death and is still completing a written analysis, Hicks said he does not expect it to dispute the coroner’s conclusion.
While the coroner’s office investigated the possibility that Fuller was hanged by someone other than himself, Matthew J. Miller, a deputy medical examiner, said a lack of “significant trauma” to his limbs or neck, “coupled with the existence of evidence of prior suicidal ideation and a history of mental health issues,” supported the finding of suicide.
An attorney for the family agreed.
“While the family is still struggling with these initial reports, we have not found any information to suggest foul play,” Hicks said. “I have no information to suggest that anything was racially motivated.”
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives on Thursday said a more thorough examination of Fuller’s death found a history of mental illness and suicidal thoughts.
Another black man was found hanging from a tree in a town just east of where Fuller took his own life.
Fuller was the second Black man recently found hanged in Southern California. Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old homeless man, was found in a tree on May 31 in Victorville, a desert city in San Bernardino County east of Palmdale. Publicity surrounding Fuller’s case prompted Harsch’s family to seek further investigation of his death.
Police were able to obtain surveillance footage from a vacant building near where Harsch’s body was found that “confirmed the absence of foul play,” according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The family was shown the video and said they accepted the finding of suicide.
A determination as to the cause of death in both cases was quick and decisive. But the mob refused to believe it — or they decided to stand on top of the bodies of these young men to “prove” police racism and white supremacy.
Using the dead to advance a political agenda is a well-worn tactic of the left. Recall liberals using the dead from the Katrina hurricane to advance the narrative that President George Bush hated black people and wanted them to die. This used to be a “no-go” zone in American politics — capitalizing on tragedy.
But that notion has fallen by the wayside in service to the racialist narrative.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member