Ferguson activist believes son was targeted, not suicidal

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Ferguson protester says she believes her son was killed in retaliation for her activism, even as police investigate the death as a suicide.

Relatives found 24-year-old Danye Jones hanging by a bed sheet from a tree behind the family home Oct. 17.

St. Louis County police spokesman Shawn McGuire says “based on all the physical evidence and the current thorough investigation,” suicide is the focal point of investigators.

Jones’ mother, Melissa McKinnies, disagrees. Soon after his death she posted on Facebook : “They lynched my baby.” Facebook later took down the posting.

McKinnies told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she believes her son was upbeat, not suicidal. She says he didn’t know how to tie the knots used in the ligature, and that the sheet didn’t match the family’s sheets.