photo credit: Rena Schild // Shutterstock

A 24-year-old black male, Danye Jones was found hanging from a tree in his mothers backyard on Oct 17th, in Ferguson Missouri. Danye was found by his mother, Melissa McKinnies, who is a activist in Ferguson. McKinnies shared the photos of her son on Facebook, which have since been deleted, with the caption, “This is what I woke up to! They lynched my baby,” she wrote. “My first time seeing these photos. If you have a weak stomach don’t look but this mother wants justice after I get up. I’m sick and losing my mind but I had to let the world see what they did to my baby.”

The St. Louis County Police Department are investigating his death as a suicide. Police say their department received a call for a report of a suicide that morning.

His mother took to Facebook to share another message, “If anything happens to me I DID NOT KILL MYSELF. My SON didn’t hang himself in his own mother’s backyard for me to find. He may have been a little sad every once in a while but he would have NEVER went out like that. He loved his family and was looking forward to his new businesses.”

“Based on evidence at scene, it’s still being classified as a suicide but it’s still under investigation,” said Sgt. Shawn McGuire. The autopsy is still pending.

Written by Clarke Jones