The death of Keith Warren, a black teenager who was found hanged from a tree in 1986

On July 31, 1986, 19-year-old Keith Warren was found hanging from a tree near his home in Silver Spring, MD. The death was ruled a suicide, but due to inconsistencies in the case, his family long believed it was a lynching.

Several factors fueled these suspicions, including the unusual location of Warren’s body and the family’s claim that they were not allowed to see the body until after it was embalmed. Over the years, activists and Warren’s family pushed for a reopening of the case, believing his death may have been a murder.

In 1994, after years of pressure from his family, Warren’s body was exhumed and a second autopsy was performed, which revealed high levels of a chemical commonly found in antifreeze, suggesting that Warren may have been poisoned before his execution.

In 2022, Discovery+ aired a three-part docuseries about Warren’s death. The series followed Keith Warren’s sister’s 35-year-long effort to change the cause of death on Keith’s death certificate. The docuseries was accompanied by a six-part podcast hosted by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.

The case was also covered in an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” in 1996. The part about Keith Warren begins at minute 32.

In April 2021, former Montgomery County Councilman Hans Riemer called on Montgomery County to order an independent investigation into the Montgomery County Police Department’s handling of the death of Keith Warren. His letter to County Executive Marc Elrich reads as follows:

“District Administrator Elrich,

I am writing to ask you to order an independent investigation into the Montgomery County Police Department’s handling of the death of Keith Warren. Mr. Warren was a young black man who was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area near his Silver Spring home in 1986.

An independent investigation should determine if there is reason to reclassify Mr. Warren’s cause of death from suicide to unknown. His family has identified many disturbing inconsistencies in this case that continue to exist today despite previous investigations. We must put to rest any questions about our county government’s handling of this incident.

We may or may not be able to determine the true cause of death, but I firmly believe that there is more uncertainty about the situation than the official County position admits, and that the treatment of Mr. Warren and his family was unfair and unreasonable. I have spoken with Mr. Warren’s sister, Sherri Warren. She has fought for decades alongside her now deceased mother to bring justice to her brother’s memory. She deserves our support and recognition of Keith Warren’s humanity. An independent investigation to determine whether the cause of death
the time of death is actually “unknown”, this would ensure this.

Sincerely,
Hans Riemer
Council member, without portfolio”