The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences has determined that the death of Dennoriss Richardson, a Black man found hanging in an abandoned house in Colbert County in late September, was a suicide. However, a private autopsy commissioned by Richardson’s family challenges this conclusion, leaving the case shrouded in controversy and raising questions about the investigation.
Richardson, 39, was discovered far from his home in Sheffield, Alabama, a town of nearly 10,000 residents along the Tennessee River. According to Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine, a state autopsy released in December confirmed the preliminary findings of suicide. “They get those preliminary results back pretty quick; we had those within the week,” Balentine told AL.com. “It’s taken three months to get the official report back.”
Despite the state’s findings, Richardson’s family and community remain skeptical, citing a history of racial injustice and distrust of local authorities. Richardson’s wife, Leigh Richardson, expressed doubt about the official conclusion. “The sheriff’s department has been saying he committed suicide from the beginning, within five days of investigation,” she said in a statement. “This is why we are fighting for the truth. We know that ‘NaNa’ did not kill himself.”
