LAist BINÂ NEWSÂ ONÂ JUNE 12, 2020 2:24 PM
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says a 24-year-old man likely hanged himself in a Palmdale park this week. But scant details about the case â and the symbolism of a young Black man dying by hanging in the Antelope Valley â have some speculating on social media that Fuller was the victim of a hate crime.
A passerby walking near city hall around 4 a.m. Wednesday saw Robert Fuller’s body hanging from a tree in an area called the Poncitlan Square and called 911, said Lt. Brandon Dean with the Palmdale sheriff’s station. Homicide detectives responded, as did the coroner’s office.
“From initial investigation of the scene and everything we’ve recovered at the scene, all signs right now lead us to believe this was a suicide,” Dean told us. “Without going into too much detail, it doesn’t appear there was any sign of a fight or struggle.”
[If you or a loved one needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Los Angeles County maintains a 24-hour bilingual hotline at 800-854-7771]
He said the investigation is ongoing, and the coroner’s office will perform an autopsy.
“My little brother died here alone,” Diamond Alexander said on Facebook in a post sharing an article about Fuller’s death. “This sât hurts, please keep us in prayers.”
In another Facebook post around the same time, she urged people to share information. “If anyone seen [sic] anything please come forward,” Alexander said.
Fuller was connected to addresses in Palmdale and Las Vegas, and Dean said the sheriff’s department is “still talking to family members to see where he was laying his head at night.”
On Twitter, speculation about what happened to Fuller drove the hashtag, “JusticeForRobertFuller,” to trend nationally on Friday.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
A young man was lynched in yesterday. His body was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, CA. He was only 23 years old. His family is missing him. They want answers. They want JUSTICE. His name is Robert Fuller.
SAY HIS NAME ??#JusticeForRobertFuller pic.twitter.com/UeHIsDS64L
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) June 12, 2020
Palmdale’s history includes documented activity by neo-Nazi youth gangs and housing discrimination against African Americans.
Fuller’s death happened the day before 61-year-old Michael Thomas, a Black man, was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies during a domestic violence call in the neighboring Antelope Valley city of Lancaster.
LASD issued a statement about Thursday’s shooting:
“The suspect refused to comply with the deputy’s orders, and an altercation between the deputies and the suspect ensued. During the altercation, the suspect reached down and attempted to gain control of one of the deputy’s firearm. It was at that time when a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
But the Antelope Valley Times reports that Thomas’ girlfriend, Kimberly Smith, disputes this claim, saying she did not see Thomas reach for a gun. “[F]our police officers came in and twisted his arm, no handcuffs no nothing,” she said.
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva will hold a virtual town hall on June 15 at 2 p.m. to address “community concerns.” Officials from the Lancaster and Palmdale Sheriff’s stations will participate.
We hope you will join us on Mon, June 15, 2020 from 2-4 P.M. for a virtual town hall meeting for #Lancaster/#Palmdale residents, hosted by @LACoSheriff, @LANLASD Capt and @PalmdaleSheriff Capt.
To register for this FREE event, visit: https://t.co/wyQakp1v2z
More details below- pic.twitter.com/6wi8OHWf1i
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) June 12, 2020
By mid-afternoon Friday, some 3,500 people had donated to a GoFundMe page that Diamond Alexander created in Robert Fuller’s memory.
“Words can’t describe how my family is feeling,” she wrote. “We grew up there in the Antelope Valley, we have so many friends, families that loved Robert. Please help with whatever you can. We greatly appreciate everyone. Thank you for standing with us during this difficult time.”
Plans were circulating on social media Friday morning for a community rally on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the park where Fuller’s body was found. One flier reads, “Robert was murdered in front of city hall. Hung in a tree & they are trying to cover it up.”
The City of Palmdale released a statement from City Manager J.J. Murphy that repeated the sheriff’s department’s initial findings of death by suicide. It said, in part, “[s]adly, it is not the first such incident since the COVID-19 pandemic began.”
“Many people are suffering extreme mental anguish and the City wants everyone to know that help is available,” Murphy said.
The city’s statement also pointed residents to a series of virtual mental health-focused town halls offering coping tools:
The next session will take place Monday, June 15 at 10 am. To participate, simply send an email to info@cityofpalmale.org and note “Mental Health Town Hall” in the subject line. City staff will then provide you with the meeting information and access code.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
