Belle Glade, Fla. ? Not long after the family of Feraris “Ray” Golden found his dead body dangling from a tree outside his grandmother’s home, ugly suspicions began to surface.

Police concluded Golden committed suicide, hanging himself with a work shirt as a noose. But relatives say that’s impossible; they claim the 32-year-old, who was black, was found with his hands tied behind his back.

Rumors began swirling that Ray Golden was lynched.

Friends say Golden was dating a white policeman’s daughter in this farming community of about 15,000, divided almost equally between black and white residents.

The uneasiness after his death in May became so rampant that NAACP leaders called for an inquest into the lynching rumors.

“We’re not saying it’s a homicide. We’re not saying it’s a suicide. We just think there are some questions that need to be answered,” said Linda Johnson, the local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The state attorney agreed to have an inquest today to publicly air the community’s concerns and the circumstances surrounding Golden’s death. Police, medical examiners and others believed to have knowledge of the death are expected to testify.

A death by lynching hasn’t been documented for two decades, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.