Rasheem Carter.Photo: GoFundMe
The family of a Black man whose dismembered body was found in Mississippi a month after he disappeared last year is now calling for a federal investigation.
Rasheem Carter, 25, of Fayette, Miss., was last seen on Oct. 2, 2022, at a Super 8 Hotel in Laurel, according to amissing person’s reportfrom the Laurel Police Department.
According to his family, the day before Carter vanished, he sought help from police after telling his mother that “three truckloads of White guys [were] trying to kill him,” Tiffany Carter said at a March 13 news conference, according toWLBT.
“[Police] did not help him. He asked for help, but they did not help him,” Tiffany said, perWAPT.
On Nov. 2, 2022, remains confirmed to be Carter’s were found in a wooded area of Taylorsville, Miss., which is about 21 miles away from where he was reportedly last seen, according to aFacebook postfrom the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.
The statement said that authorities had “no reason to believe foul play was involved.” The statement didn’t share details about what led up to the discovery and it didn’t include information about Carter’s cause of death.
Smith County Sheriff Charlie Crumpton did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday.
In an attempt to figure out what happened to her son, Tiffany sought the help of civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who shared additional information this week about Carter’s death after obtaining an independent autopsy. Tiffany’s sister, Felica Kaho, launched aGoFundMe campaignlast year to help the family’s pursuit of “attaining justice,” the page states.
The autopsy findings, Crump says, suggest that Carter was murdered, calling it “not a natural death,” theAssociated Pressreports.
“His head was severed from his body,” Crump told reporters Monday, per WLBT. “His vertebrate, his spinal cord, was in another spot they discovered away from his severed head. They have recently found remains that they believe are also Rasheem Carter at another part of where he went missing.”
According to Tiffany, the family believes he was a victim of a hate crime.
Crump asked the Department of Justice to conduct an investigation into Carter’s death, saying law enforcement “failed to act,” when Carter allegedly told police that he feared for his safety, according to WAPT.
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However, Laurel Police Chief Tommy Cox, who spoke toNBCNews, said Carter didn’t ask for help before he went missing. The chief reportedly said they quickly turned over the investigation to Smith County once they learned it was outside of the department’s jurisdiction.
At the news conference, Crump called Carter’s death “a nefarious act. This was an evil act,” NBC News reports.
Crump added, “Somebody murdered Rasheem Carter, and we cannot let them get away with this.”
source: people.com
