“It was suicide,” a sheriff’s department investigator told Willie’s mother that night. “It was nothing else.” But how could he know so fast? He couldn’t. Yet, that’s the story authorities are sticking to, despite evidence that doesn’t support their conclusion under any degree of scrutiny. Witness statements and surveillance footage suggest foul play. Willie had an injury that would’ve made suicide improbable, and there’s an individual who should be a suspect.
Surveillance footage, which authorities haven’t been interested in to date, shows Willie, his girlfriend Alexis Rankin, and their friend Shaniya Pace arriving at Rankin’s house at 10:35 pm. Witness statements obtained from Pace and Rankin confirm that Willie and Rankin argued on the drive over because Willie confronted her about seeing someone else. The car stops on Green Grove Road, a dirt road that runs in front of Rankin’s house, and Pace gets out. The car starts again and stops seconds later. Rankin jumps out and runs in. Willie parks and stays in the car for several minutes. Multiple reports confirm that he walked inside the house.
At 10:50 pm, Rankin’s stepfather, whom I’ll identify only by his first name, Harold, calls 911 and says Willie’s hung himself.
We’re dealing with a very small timeframe – six minutes: the time between Willie exiting the car and Harold calling 911. There were 11 people inside the house, including Rankin’s older brother, uncle, and Harold. None of their stories add up.
The following Monday, Ms. Townsend went to the funeral home to make arrangements. When she arrived, she asked to see her son. The director raised the sheet on his body, let it down, raised it again, and said, “Oh my God.” Willie’s right shoulder was dislocated. The hair on the back of his head had been scraped off, and he had scratches on his face, all suggesting a struggle. Then and there, she refused to let them bury him.
We also know that Willie could barely use his right arm. He’d injured it in high school playing football and couldn’t lift it above his head. If he tried or if someone pulled it, his shoulder would dislocate, and he’d be in severe pain. People he’d worked for couldn’t remember him ever using it. This is important because MBI’s file says the branch where he hung was approximately 6.5 to 7 feet high. But, it’s not. It’s 7.5 to 9 feet instead. Willie was 5’ 8” with an injury. How could he have placed the rope around the branch and reached up to tie the knots?
So, supposedly, within six minutes, Willie argued inside, went outside for 20 minutes, found a rope, threw it over a limb, somehow reached over his head with his injured arm to tie the knots, and with his shoulder now dislocated from raising his arm so high, hoisted himself with enough force to hang?
Six days after the hanging, Pace came forward with new information. Inside the house, Willie’s argument with Rankin had continued. Harold went to his room and grabbed a gun. Rankin’s mother made him put it back. Willie walked outside. Harold walked out after him and closed the door.
A neighbor who sleeps near a window just yards from the house told us that that night, she heard “a commotion” outside. Three male voices cursed and yelled “bitch.” One was Willie’s. Then a loud noise, machinelike, drowned them out. Her account contradicts every statement taken from individuals in Rankin’s house that night – except for Pace’s. Authorities have never questioned her.
Harold, however, told authorities Willie was alone outside for “20 minutes or so,” even though we know Willie was out of the car for only six minutes.
Four days before the hanging, Willie and Rankin argued at Burger King. Willie left, and 15 minutes later, Harold came. Employees informed the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) and me that when he arrived, he allegedly told Rankin, “If this happen again, you know what I told you I’m gone do to that nappy-headed thug.” Another neighbor told MBI that when she spoke with Rankin’s mother after Willie’s death, she said Pace had called her from the car during Willie and Rankin’s argument, but she didn’t want to tell Harold they were fighting because she was afraid of what he might do.
Nevertheless, Harold, who was at least 60 pounds heavier than Willie, told MBI he’d never had a problem with Willie or “boy,” as he called him. “She’s had a couple different boyfriends — all of ‘em colored. …I ain’t never had no problem with none of ‘em except one of the guys my real daughter dates.” But that’s a lie. In 2016, Harold allegedly tried to kill one of Rankin’s boyfriends who’s also black. That ex, Rasheen Lee, said that while he was living with Rankin’s family, Harold called him nigger, busted a beer bottle, and gripped the bottle’s neck to use its jagged edge as a weapon. Rankin’s mother tried to calm him down, but it didn’t work. Lee ran half a mile to Green Grove Church and hid as Harold searched for him. Deputies arrested Harold and took him to jail. That same day, Lee packed up and moved out. He said when he heard about Willie’s death, he thought, “That could’ve been me.” Then, he cried. We were the first to speak with him. Authorities haven’t spoken to him at all.
Ending
According to media reports, the FBI joined in the investigation eight days after Willie's death. An agent interviewed Willie's mother in the presence of an attorney. The FBI never contacted us again after this meeting. We submitted a FOIA request to the FBI on January 7, 2019, hoping to learn of the FBI's progress in their investigation, but were told that they could not identify any records responsive to our request. What happened to the report documenting the interview of Willie's mother? We sent letters to the FBI requesting updates on their investigation on May 14, 2019, September 17, 2019, and November 26, 2019. We received no response. I contacted the FBI and requested a response to this piece. They declined to comment.
Suicide” has been a coverup for lynchings for centuries now, but we don’t have to look back that far.
As of April 2024, the former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, and former Chief Forensic Pathologist for the New York State Police released an independent medical exam report providing evidence that the death of Willie Andrew Jones Jr. – the victim of a suspected lynching case Scott County, Mississippi in 2018 originally ruled a suicide – was indeed a homicide. JULIAN, a civil and human rights advocacy organization, demands that the alleged perpetrator, Harold O'Bryant, and another suspect be charged with the murder of Jones Jr.
The medical exam report can be accessed here: Willie Andrew Jones, Jr. Independent Medical Exam Report