MISSING Rasheem Carter, a Mississippi man, was discovered dead in a wooded area after a months-long search.
Police claim there were no signs of foul play, but his family is pleading with federal authorities to intervene after an independent autopsy revealed that his head had been severed.
Who was Rasheem Carter?
Rasheem Carter, 25, of Fayette, Mississippi, was a father and welder who went missing on October 2, 2022.
Tiffany Carter, his mother, was the one who reported him missing after receiving a distressing phone call from him claiming that he was being pursued by white men using racial slurs.
“He said, ‘I’ve got these men trying to kill me,'” Tiffany recalled to NBC News.
Rasheem lived in Fayette but was on a business trip in Taylorsville at the time of his disappearance.
Rasheem used to own a seafood restaurant, but it closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was reportedly saving money in order to reopen it.
“That was his goal,” his mother continued. “That was why he went back out to work.”
What was Rasheem Carter’s cause of death?
Rasheem’s body was discovered in a wooded area south of Taylorsville on November 2.
The Smith County Sheriff’s Office stated on Facebook that there was “no reason to believe foul play was involved,” but the circumstances surrounding his death do not sit well with the community.
“This was a nefarious act. This was an evil act,” attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, via NBC News.
“Somebody murdered Rasheem Carter, and we cannot let them get away with this.”
When Rasheem was found, his head had been severed, and several teeth were missing from the top and bottom rows.
Authorities reportedly told his family that the injuries were from wild animals, but his family believes that they are the result of a brutal attack.
“I knew then somebody had done something to him.”
According to ABC News, Rasheem’s cause of death was ruled undetermined by the medical examiner, who noted that the condition of his remains made it difficult to determine when his injuries occurred.
“Clearly Rasheem’s death was not a natural death,” Ricky McDonald, president of the Jefferson County NAACP chapter, said, via ABC News.
“After Rasheem was found shortly after law enforcement there says that it was no foul play. How can it not be foul play when his body was dismembered?
“How can it not be foul play when his body parts were scattered all over the land in which he was found.”
As of this writing, the case is still being investigated by local police and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
