The investigation into the 1986 death of 19-year-old Keith Warren has been reopened. Warren was found hanging from a tree near his Silver Spring home on July 31, 1986. His death was initially ruled a suicide, but his family has long challenged that finding, citing inconsistencies in the case and concerns that he may have been the victim of a lynching.
According to Montgomery County Police, “The Montgomery County Department of Police was recently notified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Maryland of the reclassification of the cause of death for Keith Warren. Pursuant to the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act, and following that notification, Montgomery County Department of Police is proceeding forward in compliance with our statutory obligations.”
Warren’s family says they were not permitted to see his body until after embalming, and have questioned the position in which he was found. Years of advocacy led to the exhumation of his body in 1994, when a second autopsy reportedly revealed high levels of a chemical associated with antifreeze, raising the possibility that he may have been poisoned prior to being hanged.
The case has continued to draw national attention for nearly four decades. In 1996, it was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, and more recently it was the subject of a three-part Discovery+ docuseries and companion six-part podcast released in 2022, chronicling the Warren family’s effort to have the cause of death changed and the investigation reopened.
Warren’s family and supporters have maintained that a thorough review is needed to determine what happened, and recent legal developments have now cleared the way for a new inquiry. Authorities say further updates will be provided as the renewed investigation progresses.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP attorneys helped a grieving family reopen the investigation into a loved one’s suspicious death in 1986.
On July 31, 1986, the body of Keith Warren, a young Black man, was found hanging from a tree in Silver Spring, Maryland. After conducting a 21-minute investigation, the police ruled Warren’s death a suicide, even though evidence showed his feet would have been able to touch the ground even with the rope around his neck. There was no medical exam, and police did not order an autopsy.
Warren’s mother later had his body exhumed and paid for a toxicology examination and a pathology report. The findings were not consistent with the police department’s conclusion of suicide. For years, Warren’s mother and sister have sought to have his Medical Examiner’s Certificate of Death corrected to reflect that the cause and manner of death cannot be determined on the available evidence, and to reopen the investigation into his death.
Working pro bono for Warren’s sister (Sherri Warren), Sheppard Mullin partner Steve Hollman and associates Damani Sims, Meredith Lerner and Philip Thompson, succeeded in convincing the Montgomery County Police Department to reopen the investigation into Warren’s death. The new investigation followed a determination by the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that the Medical Examiner’s Certificate of Death must be corrected to reflect that the cause and manner of death are undetermined.
“This was an effort to show that all lives matter and that all families suffering the grievous loss of a loved one deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Hollman. “We are reminded of the powerful words of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, who observed: ‘We are each other’s business. We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.’”