The results of an autopsy of a black man found hanging from a tree in Mississippi are still secret, but the FBI says the findings have been discussed with the man's family.
Investigators are not saying when they will publicly release the information or whether they consider the death of 54-year-old Otis Byrd to be homicide or suicide, reported The Associated Press.
"At each milestone in this case, the FBI's first step is to personally brief family members," said Don Alway, special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi.
Agents from the FBI and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation met March 24 with Byrd's family to discuss the autopsy, Alway said. That was five days after Byrd was found hanging from a tree near the home he rented in Port Gibson, a small town near the Mississippi River in the southwestern part of the state.
A call to Byrd's sister, Florine Hodge, was not answered Wednesday, and it was not possible to leave a message seeking comment from her.
A call to Byrd's stepsister, Tracy Wilson, was not immediately returned to the AP.
An attorney representing the Byrd family was scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday in Jackson to discuss the investigation.
The FBI says it is awaiting results of forensic tests from its laboratory. More than 30 federal and state investigators have been working on the case. They have interviewed people who knew Byrd and searched his home and a storage unit he rented.
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