Nevan Baker. Courtesy of his family.
Family members of a Black man who was found hanging from a tree this past weekend say they believe his death was not a suicide, as the Orlando Police Department and Medical Examiner’s Office have initially determined.
Nevan Baker, 22, was found dead Sunday about 3:45 a.m. in Barker Park, near Camping World Stadium and the Washington Shores neighborhood, hanging by a rope from a tree, according to OPD’s case report — alarming circumstances that his family and many in the Orlando community say deserve increased scrutiny.
“I’m not done with this situation; it’s just beginning,” said Sharhonda James, Baker’s mom. “Nobody’s going to stand for this in this community.”
OPD spokeswoman Autumn Jones said
Thursday the “investigation has concluded with the determination of a suicide.” A case synopsis from the medical examiner, which OPD released Friday, ruled the manner of death suicide.