Coroner rules hanging death a suicide

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — The coroner has ruled a gruesome hanging death in Vicksburg in a wooded area near an area hotel, is a suicide.

In a press release, Vicksburg Police Captain Curtis Judge said, “On Monday, September 15, 2025, at approximately 1229 hundred hours, Officers with the Vicksburg Police Department responded to the 4000 block of Washington Street in reference to a hanging.” Captain Judge later identified the deceased as Cory Zukatis. The coroner has ruled the death was a suicide. The event made national news due to another hanging in Mississippi at

A group of teenagers found the man hanging from a tree in the area known for a homeless encampment. It is the second death in that area in the past year.

The event made national news due to another hanging in Mississippi at Delta State University. Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a 21-year-old Black student, was found hanging from a tree. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s office and the Bolivar County coroner ruled the death a suicide, citing the preliminary absence of foul play or assault. However, Reed’s family and civil rights groups, referencing the deeply symbolic and tragic history of lynching in America, have requested a more thorough, independent autopsy by the Colin Kaepernick Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative to confirm the findings.