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Families Challenge Suicide in Deaths of Black Men Found Hanging From Trees

The bodies of Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch were found in California, 10 days and 50 miles apart. Their families are demanding deeper investigations.

Protesters gathered outside the Palmdale Sheriff’s station on Saturday to demand an independent investigation into the death of Robert L. Fuller.Credit...Apu Gomes/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The families of two black men who were found hanged from trees in Southern California are asking the authorities to further investigate their deaths.

The family of Robert L. Fuller, 24, disputed the authorities’ initial pronouncement that he died by suicide. The family of Malcolm Harsch, 38, is worried his death will also be ruled a suicide.

Mr. Harsch was found at 7 a.m. on May 31 near a homeless encampment in Victorville, Calif., where bystanders told the authorities he was living. A woman who identified herself as his girlfriend called 911 to say that others in the encampment had notified her that Mr. Harsch had been found hanging from a tree and cut down, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Department said in a statement.

There were no indications of foul play but the investigation was continuing, a spokeswoman for the department said Sunday.

Firefighters found bystanders performing CPR on Mr. Harsch when they arrived at the scene, according to Sue Jones, the public information officer for the City of Victorville. Firefighters took over and tried to restore Mr. Harsch’s heartbeat, but they stopped after 20 minutes.

“We grieve for Malcolm’s family and extend our deepest condolences,” Ms. Jones said. “Malcolm Harsch’s life mattered.”

Mr. Harsch’s relatives were told by the coroner’s office that his autopsy was completed, said Harmonie Harsch, Mr. Harsch’s sister, but they were not informed of the cause of death.

“We are really just trying to get more answers as to what happened,” Ms. Harsch, 29, said in an interview on Sunday. “My brother was so loving, not only to his family but even strangers. It is not like him.”

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The deaths of Robert L. Fuller, left, and Malcolm Harsch were not suicides, their families said. Credit...Left, Robert Fuller Family via Najee Ali; Malcolm Harsch Family

Mr. Harsch moved to California 14 years ago from Ohio, Ms. Harsch said.

“He loved doing tattoos, he was very artistic,” she added.

Ms. Harsch said she was conducting her own investigation into her brother’s death.

“It has been stressful,” she said. “It doesn’t sound right.”

Around 50 miles west of Victorville, in Palmdale, Calif., Mr. Fuller’s family questioned the authorities’ pronouncement that his death was considered a suicide.

At a rally for Mr. Fuller on Saturday, Diamond Alexander, his sister, said through tears that the initial resolution on her brother’s death “did not make sense.”

“Everything that they’ve been telling us has not been right,” she said, according to video of the rally in Palmdale. “We’ve been hearing one thing. Then we hear another. And we just want to know the truth.”

A passer-by discovered Mr. Fuller’s body hanging from a tree in Poncitlán Square, across from Palmdale City Hall, at around 3:39 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Though the investigation was continuing, the authorities noted in their news release that “Mr. Fuller, tragically, committed suicide.” Mr. Fuller’s autopsy has not been completed, the authorities said.

“My brother was not suicidal,” Ms. Alexander said. “He wasn’t.”

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Mr. Harsch was found hanging from a tree by a homeless encampment near the Victorville Public Library on May 31.Credit...Gabriel D. Espinoza/Victor Valley News

The men’s deaths have struck a chord with people in northern Los Angeles County and across the nation as many have protested against racism and police brutality for over two weeks, in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

A petition demanding for a full investigation into Mr. Fuller’s death had gotten over 215,000 signatures as of Sunday afternoon.

At a news conference held by officials at Palmdale City Hall on Friday, residents made it clear that they did not trust that the local authorities would properly investigate Mr. Fuller’s death. They demanded an independent review and transparency.

“Why was it right here in public, in front of City Hall, next to a church, in front of a library?” one woman said. “Why was it like that? Who would do that? No black man would hang himself in public like that.”

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