Alabama Police Rule Black Man’s Hanging Death a Suicide, but His Wife Doesn’t Believe It. Now the FBI Is Investigating

After a Black man in Alabama was found hanging in an abandoned house, a local sheriff’s department ruled his death a suicide — but his wife thinks there is more to the story. Now, the FBI is investigating his death.

When the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office first ruled the death of 39-year-old Dennoriss Richardson, whose body was discovered on Sept. 28, a suicide, his wife, Leigh Richardson, became suspicious for several reasons.

Dennoriss, a father of five and a kids’ baseball and football coach, left no note, Leigh explained to CNN and the Associated Press. He also had no connection — that she is aware of — to the home where his body was found, which was miles away from his Sheffield residence.

Leigh, who was estranged but on good terms with Dennoriss at the time of his death. told AL.com that she needs answers. “This was made to look like a suicide,” she said. “It’s not a suicide.”

Dennoriss’ mother, Bonita Richardson, reached the same conclusion and even paid for a private autopsy of his body. “My son was joyful,” she told AL.com. “He didn’t have any mental issues. He would never kill himself. He would not hurt himself.”

Leigh fears that rather than a suicide, Dennoriss’ death was somehow related to a lawsuit he filed against local police earlier this year, the AP reported. In the lawsuit — one of several similar suits the Sheffield Police Department is currently faced with — Dennoriss alleged that while in jail, he was assaulted, sprayed with tear gas, shocked with a taser and denied medical attention.

Leigh’s fear is also heightened by Colbert County residents’ longstanding distrust of local law enforcement, with multiple community members making claims of excessive force similar to Dennoriss’, the AP reported, as well as the fact that he died by hanging, which evokes the area’s long history of lynchings.

Given the legacy of racial violence, Tori Bailey, the president of the local NAACP chapter, told the AP it makes sense that community members would have a “visceral” reaction to a Black man hanging and would want a thorough investigation done.

After the sheriff department’s investigation of Dennoriss’ death left his loved ones more skeptical than satisfied, Sheriff Eric Balentine called in the FBI to conduct its own, he told the AP. The federal agency is now reviewing the allegations of criminal misconduct.

“We feel confident in what our findings were,” Balentine told the AP, “but we feel like by doing this we can give the family more peace of mind.”

"Transparency is always a good way to mend some fences with the community,” the sheriff added.

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Dennoriss previously had several run-ins with the Sheffield Police Department over the years, including a five-year in-prison stint for a drug possession charge in 2006, according to the AP. He was also arrested at least six other times for charges including robbery and assault, none of which resulted in conviction.

According to Leigh, his history with the Sheffield police goes all the way back to his childhood, however. “They harassed him his whole life,” she told AL.com.

The week he filed his lawsuit against the department in February, he had been charged with trafficking meth, according to the outlet. He was out on bond at the time of his death.

The Colbert County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. 

Leigh, who has not made any specific accusations but remains certain her husband didn’t kill himself, told CNN that she is “very suspicious of the circumstances that were happening in his life prior to his death.”

“I do have hope that the FBI and the justice department will look into all of the details,” she said. “And also not only for Dennoriss — this is a huge issue in our community.”

Leigh also said the absence of the father of five is being felt by his wife, kids and community after his death.

“He took being a father, a role model, very seriously,” Leigh told CNN of her late husband. “He was not only a good father, but he was also a mentor in the community, and he had many nieces and nephews that looked up to him.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.