Authorities in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, have opened an investigation following the death of 38-year-old Demetrius Fleming, who was found deceased on Friday, August 21, 2026.
Emergency crews responded shortly after 6:45 a.m. to a 911 call reporting an attempted suicide at a home on Roanoke Avenue. Upon arrival, responders found Fleming already dead and connected to a ligature. Authorities noted that the 911 call was made by someone close to Fleming who was not physically present at the scene.
Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Lawrence Wiggins announced that the department is treating the matter as an open, “equivocal death investigation,” meaning investigators have not yet determined whether the death was a suicide or the result of criminal activity.
“This investigation is in its infancy, and it is important to neither make nor perpetuate assumptions as facts,” Chief Wiggins stated during a press briefing. “The evidence will provide the conclusion; anything else will create more confusion.”
Wiggins emphasized that all potential causes remain under consideration as police gather evidence, review local surveillance footage, and await official autopsy and toxicology results from the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The incident has drawn significant attention and concern across North Carolina, occurring just days after another Black man was found hanging in downtown Raleigh on August 15—a case local police subsequently ruled a suicide. Addressing the heightened public reaction and community anxiety surrounding the circumstances, Chief Wiggins acknowledged the weight of the situation while reaffirming the department’s commitment to a thorough, fact-based inquiry.
Local authorities and community leaders have urged patience and requested that the public refrain from spreading unverified rumors while forensic medical examiners work to establish the official cause and manner of death.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is encouraged to contact the Roanoke Rapids Police Department or submit an anonymous tip through Halifax County Crime Stoppers.