2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The FBI has determined that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings. Chris Crocker, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis division, told The Associated Press that an extensive investigation concluded a self-inflicted wound, not a homicide or a hate crime, was responsible for the April 2021 death of 19-year-old Derontae Martin. Martin was attending a prom party in Madison County, Missouri, when he died. The home was owned by a man who in Facebook postings mocked foreign accents and defended the Confederate flag.