(NewsNation) — Rasheem Carter was found decapitated outside of Laurel, Mississippi, and police initially said there was “no foul play” in his death.
Rasheem’s mom, Tiffany, told NewsNation’s “Banfield” on Thursday night that she believes her son was targeted by white men who had previously hurled racial insults at him.
Rasheem told his mom about this group of white men harassing him via text message. Then, he went missing and his remains were found scattered in the woods.
Rasheem, 25, was last seen Oct. 2 at a hotel in Laurel. On Nov. 2, his decomposing body was found in a wooded area about 21 miles (33.8 kilometers) away in Taylorsville.
At a news conference Monday alongside Carter’s family, Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney, said the Justice Department should take up the case after local police said they had no reason to believe the man’s death was the result of foul play.
“One thing is for certain,” Crump said. “This was not a natural death. This represents a young man who was killed.”
In a statement on social media, the Smith County Sheriff’s Department did not elaborate on why they believed there was no foul play or what led them to the wooded area where Rasheem’s remains were found.
“They said ‘no foul play’ so quickly that they made Tiffany Carter and her family believe that they were trying to sweep it under the rug,” Crump said on “Banfield.” Authorities didn’t have much response “until our firm, and a lot of other people, started to say, ‘This doesn’t add up. You cannot try to tell this broken hearted woman that her son being found with his head decapitated was natural.'”
Tiffany said that Cardi B and Crump have been instrumental in “shining a light” on her Rasheem’s case.
Cardi B tweeted about the case Tuesday afternoon. The rapper has more than 29 million followers on the social media platform.
“The details of #rasheemcarter is murder is INHUMANE and soo gruesome!!!Actions and awareness needs to be taken!!…PLEASE READ UP ON HIS STORY!!!!” Cardi B tweeted.
“I really appreciate the love and the support that they have given me throughout this time,” Tiffany said in response to Cardi B raising awareness for her son.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.