Family Demands Answers And Justice In Death Of Peter Spencer

It’s been more than a month since 29-year-old Peter Spencer was shot nine times and killed while being the only Black man on a hunting trip with five white men. He was dropped off at a cabin in Venango County, Pennsylvania on December 11, and was found dead early the next morning.

According to Pittsburg’s Action News 4, zero suspects have been identified and no one has been arrested, but four men who were reportedly present during the shooting were detained, questioned, and released with no charges being filed.

“The four individuals who were present at the time of the shooting were questioned and released after consultation with the Venango County district attorney,” the Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. The department also said that “multiple firearms, ballistic evidence, controlled substances, were seized from the scene.”

I’m sorry, but what kind of s*** is this?

Clearly, Spencer didn’t shoot himself nine times in the chest, neck, and buttocks. So why the hell is it taking so long to find out what happened to him?

According to Venango County District Attorney Shawn White, authorities are still waiting on a thorough autopsy report as the investigation continues.

Last week, forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht told News 4 he’s still waiting for results from the Venango County coroner and he said the funeral home put trocars into Spencer’s body, which makes it difficult to determine final results when it comes to the gunshot wounds.

“He has multiple gunshot wounds of his body including some that entered into his back and toward the backside of his neck,” Wecht said. “They (the funeral home) destroyed the characteristics they are looking for to help us determine exactly whether it’s entrance or exit or to get some idea of the distance from which the shot was fired.”

 

(I’m just going to go ahead and point out that none of that explains why their are no suspects in custody.)

According to NBC News, White said in a statement, “Upon receipts of these reports, the district attorney will review all available information prior to making a charging decision,” and he has urged people interested in the case to be patient.

But Spencer’s family members, who, as we previously reported, have been calling Spencer’s death exactly what it looks like, a “modern-day lynching,” are understandably fresh out of patience, according to Paul Jubas, the family’s attorney.

“We’ve only received unacceptable answers that don’t make any sense,” Jubas said. “And they’re now stonewalling us. They are preventing us from having our medical examiner, the best medical examiner in the country, do his work. There is no reason for that.”

Last week, CBS Pittsburg reported that Jubas also said, “We’re extremely surprised no one was charged and disappointed that law enforcement and the district attorney’s office have not made any comments to the family as to what is really happening in this investigation,” and that the family is now demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI get involved in the case.

“I’m just trying to walk the walk and go through how the system works,” Spencer’s mother, Icilda Spencer-Hunter, told NBC. “He has to get justice. He has to get justice.”

Until we find out just what the hell happened to Peter Spencer and see that his killers are being brought to justice, we must keep our collective eyes on this story.

Black lives still matter, and we still have to keep our feet on America’s neck.