The death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree in June in Palmdale, California, has been officially ruled a suicide, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) announced Thursday.
What We Know:
- Police said that following an investigation, “the medical examiner issued their final autopsy report and delivered it to the Sheriff’s Department and deemed this case to be suicide.” The department said Fuller had prior reports of suicidal idealization and he had disclosed that “he did have a plan to kill himself.”
- According to LASD Commander Chris Marks, Fuller had purchased a rope, similar to the one found, a month before his death. Investigators had also concluded that Fuller appeared to have purchased the rope he was found hanging from.
- “Detectives identified a purchase from a local Dollar Tree store made on May 14, 2020, in which a red rope, consistent with the one used in the hanging was purchased with the card registered to Mr. Fuller,” Marks said.
- In the early morning hours of June 10, Fuller was found hanging from a tree at a park in Southern California.
- Fuller had a history of mental illness, and there were prior reports of suicidal ideation and that he had disclosed “a plan to kill himself” prior to his death, sheriff’s Commander Chris Marks said at a news conference.
- A passerby discovered fuller’s body at around 3:30 a.m. across from Palmdale City Hall. LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said two paramedics were called to the scene, where they declared Fuller dead. The preliminary ruling was also that the death was a suicide.
Both the FBI Civil Rights Division and the California Attorney General’s Office reviewed the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation into Fuller’s death.
