The white girlfriend of a black North Carolina teen who authorities say committed suicide is breaking her silence for the first time since the teen’s death.
Seventeen-year-old Lennon Lacy was found dead August 29 hanging with a dog leash and belt from a swing set in a trailer park less than a mile from his home.
Michelle Brimhall, 32, told the DailyMail.com she believes their inter-racial relationship in the predominately white town of Bladenboro, North Carolina, is the reason for his death. Brimhall said they were taunted and hassled because of their relationship.
“Neighbors had told me they were against interracial relationships and it was ‘not right’ me being with a black guy,” Brimhall told the site.
Lacy’s death was originally ruled a suicide by local officials, but the North Carolina NAACP and Lacy’s family have maintained that he was murdered.
The FBI recently launched its own investigation into Lacy’s death.
“I believe Lennon was murdered,” Brimhall said. “The police ruled his death a suicide, but Lennon would never harm himself. He’s got too much love for life.”
She told the publication that they met after she moved across the street from Lacy and his family, following a separation from her husband.
After Lacy’s death, Brimhall left Bladenboro and has denied claims she is addicted to drugs or is pregnant with Lacy’s child.