A Black man in Alabama was found hanging in an abandoned house, and a local sheriff’s department ruled his death a suicide — but his wife believes there is more to the story. Now, the FBI is investigating his death.
The body of 39-year-old Dennoriss Richardson was found on September 28. At first, the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office said it was a suicide. This made his wife, Leigh Richardson, suspicious for a number of reasons.
According to Leigh, Dennoriss, who had five kids and coached baseball and football for kids, did not leave a note. He told CNN and the Associated Press this.
He also had no ties to the house where his body was found, which was many miles away from where he lived in Sheffield, as far as she knows.
Leigh, who had grown apart from Dennoriss but was still friendly with him when he died. told AL.com she wants to know more. She said, “This was staged to look like a suicide.” “It is not a murder.”
Dennoriss’s mother, Bonita Richardson, came to the same conclusion. She even paid for an autopsy to be done on his body in private. She told AL.com, “My son was happy.” “He was not having any mental problems.” He would never hurt himself. He was not going to hurt himself.
The AP reported that Leigh thinks Dennoriss’ death may have had something to do with the lawsuit he filed against the police earlier this year.
The lawsuit is one of several similar suits the Sheffield Police Department is currently facing. In it, Dennoriss said that he was beaten, sprayed with tear gas, shocked with a taser, and not given medical care while he was in jail.
People in Colbert County have a history of not trusting the police, and several people have made claims of excessive force similar to Dennoriss’, according to the AP.
Leigh’s fear is also increased by the fact that Dennoriss was hanged, which brings to mind the area’s long history of lynchings.
Because of the history of racial violence, Tori Bailey, president of the local NAACP chapter, told the AP that it makes sense that people would react “viscerally” to the hanging of a Black man and want an in-depth investigation.
His family was not happy with the sheriff’s investigation into Dennoriss’ death, so Sheriff Eric Balentine told the AP that he asked the FBI to do its own investigation. The federal agency is now looking into the claims of criminal behavior.
Speaking to the AP, Balentine said, “We are sure of what we found, but we think this will give the family more peace of mind.”
“Being honest with the community is always a good way to make things better,” the sheriff said.
Dennoriss has had several run-ins with the Sheffield Police Department over the years.
According to the AP, he spent five years in prison in 2006 for drug possession charges. Besides that, he was arrested at least six other times on charges like robbery and assault, but he was never found guilty.
Leigh says that his relationship with the Sheffield police goes all the way back to when he was a child. “They was mean to him his whole life,” she told AL.com.
According to the news source, he was charged with trafficking meth the week before he sued the department in February. At the time of his death, he was out on bond.
People asked the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office for a comment, but they did not answer right away.
Leigh told CNN that she is “very suspicious of the circumstances that were happening in his life prior to his death.” She has not said anything specific, but she is still sure that her husband did not kill himself.
“I do hope that the FBI and the Justice Department will look into everything,” she said. “And it is not just Dennoriss; this is a big problem in our family as well.”
Leigh also said that the father of five’s wife, children, and the community are all missing him since he died.
“He really cared about being a dad and a role model,” Leigh told CNN about her late husband. “Aside from being a good dad, he was also a community leader, and many of his nieces and nephews looked up to him.”