Javion Magee of Aurora, found dead against tree with rope around neck, not lynched, NC sheriff says

HENDERSON, N.C. (WLS) -- A death investigation involving a Chicago-area truck driver in Vance County, North Carolina is sparking questions and rumors online across the country.

Javion Magee, 21, of Aurora was found dead in a rural area on Wednesday. Investigators said Magee, who is Black, was not far from his truck, leaning with his back up against a tree and a rope around his neck.

Magee's family in Chicago is upset and demanding answers. Many of them are even on their way to North Carolina in an attempt to pressure investigators to release more information about what happened.

"It's a lot of holes in this case, it's a lot of questions and not enough answers in this case," said family spokesperson Candice Matthews. "There's no transparency that's going on in this case."

"This family wants transparency, this family wants accountability, this family wants justice," Matthews added.

"I understand there's over 1,000 hits on TikTok (accusing) the sheriff's office of not being transparent, not providing information to the family, and that is not true," Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame said. "There's been information put out there that there's a lynching. There is not a lynching. The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope. So therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County."

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Brame told ABC Raleigh-Durham affiliate WTVD there were no signs of foul play in Magee's death, but he would not yet call it a suicide.

Brame said Magee went to a nearby Walmart shortly before he died. That is where he is believed to have bought the rope found around his neck.

Magee's body was sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy to officially determine the cause of death. The preliminary autopsy results were not able to determine a cause of death, the sheriff said Friday night, and they are now waiting on a toxicology report.

Brame also said initial autopsy results show no obvious signs of defensive wounds.

Sheriff Brame said the FBI has joined the investigation.

Brame said as soon as a preliminary report comes back from that autopsy, he will share it with Magee's family, and then make a decision about how to share it with the public.

Brame also said the State Bureau of Investigation is involved in the case.

Magee's family said in a statement: " The family spoken to the medical examiner on yesterday in regard to the preliminary results... Based on the information provided the family still suspects foul play due to there was nothing under his fingernails or hands.... He did have a broken neck with blood around the neck which came from the hanging.... They also feel that this entire investigation is no way transparent......"

WTVD contributed to this report