After a black man in Alabama was found hanging in an abandoned house, the local sheriff’s department ruled his death a suicide, but his wife believes there is more to the story. Now, the FBI is investigating his death.

When the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office first ruled the death of 39-year-old Dennoriss Richardson, whose body was discovered Sept. 28, a suicide, his wife, Leigh Richardson, became suspicious for several reasons.

Dennoriss, a father of five and a youth baseball and soccer coach, didn’t leave a note, Leigh told cnn and the Associated Press. He also had no connection, to her knowledge, with the house where her body was found, which was miles from her residence in Sheffield.

Leigh, who was separated but on good terms with Dennoriss at the time of her death. said AL.com that she needs answers. “This was made to look like a suicide,” he said. “It’s not suicide.”

Dennoriss’ mother, Bonita Richardson, came to the same conclusion and even paid for a private autopsy of his body. “My son was happy,” he told AL.com. “I didn’t have any mental problems. He would never commit suicide. “He wouldn’t get hurt.”

Leigh fears that, rather than a suicide, Dennoriss’ death is somehow related to a lawsuit he filed against local police earlier this year, the AP reported. In the lawsuit, one of several similar lawsuits currently facing the Sheffield Police Department, Dennoriss alleged that while in jail, he was assaulted, sprayed with tear gas, shocked with a Taser and denied medical care. .

Leigh’s fear is also heightened by Colbert County residents’ longstanding distrust of local authorities, with multiple members of the community making claims of excessive force similar to Dennoriss’s, the AP reported, as well as the fact that he died by hanging, which evokes the situation in the area. long history of lynchings.

Given the legacy of racial violence, Tori Bailey, president of the local NAACP chapter, told the AP that it makes sense that community members would have a “visceral” reaction to the execution of a black man and want it to happen. an exhaustive investigation.

After the sheriff’s department’s investigation into Dennoriss’ death left loved ones more skeptical than satisfied, Sheriff Eric Balentine called in the FBI to conduct his own, he told the AP. The federal agency is now reviewing allegations of criminal misconduct.

“We are confident in our findings,” Balentine told the AP, “but we feel that by doing so we can give the family more peace of mind.”

“Transparency is always a good way to fix some things with the community,” the sheriff added.

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Dennoriss previously had several run-ins with the Sheffield Police Department over the years, including a five-year stint in prison for a drug possession charge in 2006, according to the AP. He was also arrested at least six other times on charges including robbery and assault, none of which resulted in a conviction.

However, according to Leigh, his history with Sheffield Police dates back to his childhood. “They bullied him his whole life,” he told AL.com.

The week he filed his complaint against the department in February, he had been charged with methamphetamine trafficking, according to the outlet. He was out on bail at the time of his death.

The Colbert County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Leigh, who has not made any specific accusations but remains certain her husband did not commit suicide, told CNN that she is “very suspicious of the circumstances that were happening in his life before his death.”

“I am hopeful that the FBI and the Department of Justice will investigate all the details,” he said. “And not just for Dennoriss – this is a big problem in our community.”

Leigh also said his wife, children and the community are feeling the absence of the father of five after his death.

“He took being a father, a role model, very seriously,” Leigh told CNN about her late husband. “Not only was he a good father, but he was also a mentor in the community and had many nieces and nephews who looked up to him.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or visit 988lifeline.org.