Questions are still brewing over the death of Javion Magee after his body was found tied to a tree in rural North Carolina. In the week since his death, authorities have released more details as his family fiercely advocates for a thorough investigation.
Authorities launched an investigation after locating Magee’s body in Henderson, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Magee, a truck driver from Chicago, Illinois, was in town to make a delivery to a local Walmart distribution center on Sept. 10.
The 21-year-old’s body was found the next day in a fenced-in wooded area on Vanco Mill Road. Investigators say he was in a seated position with his back against a tree and a rope that was wrapped a total of 11 times around his neck. The other end of the rope was attached to a tree branch.
Magee’s death became widely known through a viral TikTok posted by his cousin who pleaded for people to join the family’s fight for transparency in the death investigation and pushed back against suspicions that he died by suicide.
@scottieprimpin Please help my family in getting Justice for my little cousin #JavionMagee #Henderson #HendersonNC #Chicago #NAACP @ABC News @ABC11 @WGN9Chicago #JUSTICEFORJAVION #SAYHISNAME ♬ original sound – 🌪🖤
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame pushed back against rumors that Magee’s death was the result of a lynching and told reporters that investigators found no signs of foul play.
“I understand there’s over 1,000 hits on TikTok (accusing) the sheriff’s office of not being transparent, not providing information to the family and that is not true,” Brame told reporters on September 13. “There’s been information put out there that there’s a lynching in Vance County. There is not a lynching in Vance County. The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope, so therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County.”
On Monday, deputies released surveillance footage from a Walmart in Henderson that shows Magee purchasing a blue utility rope in a self-checkout line the day before his body was found. Some readers pointed out Magee seemed to have a positive demeanor while leaving the store with the rope in hand.
Authorities revealed on Wednesday that the rope found on Magee’s body was the same rope he bought from Walmart.
The video did little to quell the family’s concerns. “The family is saying that specific video does not declare the fact that this was a suicide, the family still suspects foul play at this point right now, but they really just want answers,” says family spokesperson Candice Matthews. “They want to know from that timeline, from him purchasing that rope all the way to the tree where he was hung.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, lawyers for Magee’s family added that they’re still investigating whether Magee’s death was the result of a hate crime, saying “any suggestion it’s a suicide would be grossly premature.” The family has shared that Magee has no history of mental illness.
Family attorneys also stated that the sheriff’s office was quick to make determinations about Magee’s death shortly after authorities found the body, leaving them with concerns about whether the investigation was being performed carefully.
“We’re investigating the lynching of a young man in 2024,” said Lee Merritt without mincing words. “The reason I was hired was to investigate the possibility of a hate crime,” he added.
“The family is not here to point fingers at the sheriff’s office. They want to know what happened,” an attorney told reporters. “We’re seeking transparency and truth.”
Using surveillance footage and GPS data, investigators pieced together a timeline of Magee’s movements in Henderson on Sept. 10. He made his delivery at the distribution center just after noon that day and left the center at 4:53 p.m.
At 6:11 p.m., he was seen walking into a Walmart on North Cooper Road and buying the rope.
He was seen walking into his hotel at 6:28 p.m., talking briefly with a hotel clerk, and leaving the hotel in his semi-truck at 6:34 p.m.
Just before 7 p.m., surveillance video shows Magee pulling into a dirt lot on Vanco Mill Road and getting in and out of his truck. He was also seen walking toward the wood line of the lot with an object. He’s seen getting out of the semi for the final time at 7:30 p.m. and walking toward the woods. Surveillance footage doesn’t show him return to the truck.
A 911 call was placed after 10 a.m. the next morning after someone found Magee’s body not far from where his truck was parked.
Dispatcher: “Vance County 911, what’s your emergency?”
Caller: “I have some guys out here mowing the grass and I got a man who hung himself in a tree”
Dispatcher: “The guy hung himself in the tree?”
Caller: “Yeah, he looks dead. He’s still got a rope around his neck.”
Autopsy results revealing Magee’s manner and cause of death have not yet been released. A toxicology report is also pending.
Authorities say Magee had no defensive wounds or scars on his limbs including arms and legs and there were signs of hemorrhaging detected around Magee’s neck.
The trucking company that employed Javion stated that it was the first time Magee had visited Henderson. Investigators have requested search warrants to access his phone.
According to a 2024 study by University of Georgia researchers, Black men die by suicide at a rate four times more than Black women. The report also cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among African-Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.
