The death of a truck driver his family called a ‘hanging’ has been ruled a suicide in a report released Wednesday.

21-year-old Javion Magee was found dead sitting against a tree with a rope wrapped around his neck outside of a rural diesel mechanic shop near Henderson, North Carolina on September 11th, 2024. His autopsy report was released to the public on Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 after nearly eight months of controversy, during which is family insisted the incident had been a ‘hanging.’

According to the autopsy report, Magee was found with a “rope wrapped around his neck a total of 11 times and the other end of the rope was wrapped around a tree branch. The rope was tight. The victim was in a seated position with his legs extended out and his left foot crossed over his right foot.” The young driver was found by the owner of T&R Tractor and Truck Repair, where Magee had parked his rig before the tragic event.

Investigation revealed that Magee made a delivery on September 10, 2024, and then stopped briefly at the lot outside of T&R Tractor and Truck Repair. Magee then drove to a retail store, where surveillance footage, bank records, and a receipt found inside of his truck show he purchased a rope. Outside of the store, he handed a homeless person $228 stating: “I don’t know how much it is, but if I had more, I would give it to you.”

Magee then stopped at a nearby hotel, where he was told there were no vacancies. Magee then drove back to the dirt lot at the repair shop, parked his truck, and walked away from the rig and into the woods with an object in his hand. He was later found dead by a tree with the rope wrapped tightly around his neck and the retail packaging from the rope nearby.

After initial reports from the Vance County Sheriff stated that the incident was likely a suicide, Magee’s family spoke out. The family stated that he had no history of suicidal thoughts, and that he had just started his job as a trucker, following in the footsteps of his father, reported…

“The family spoken to the medical examiner on yesterday in regard to the preliminary results… Based on the information provided the family still suspects foul play due to there was nothing under his fingernails or hands…. He did have a broken neck with blood around the neck which came from the hanging …. They also feel that this entire investigation is no way transparent……” the family wrote in a statement online, demanding justice.

The controversy over the potential suicide continued online, prompting the county Sheriff to issue a statement over the matter.

“I understand there’s over 1,000 hits on TikTok (accusing) the sheriff’s office of not being transparent, not providing information to the family, and that is not true,” Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame said, reported ABC 7. “There’s been information put out there that there’s a lynching. There is not a lynching. The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope. So therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County.”

Since the official autopsy report was released, Magee’s family thanked everyone who lent them support over the last few months, and asked for prayers during this difficult time.