Dozens gathered in front of the Albuquerque Police Department’s downtown headquarters during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 6, demanding answers about the death of Jayvon Givan, a 29-year-old Black man who was found hanging by a chain from a wall pillar outside a vacant building near Corrales last year.
Givan’s death was ruled a suicide with “no signs of foul play” on Sept 17, 2024, according to police reports, but the incident started circulating on social media after his cousin, unaware of his death, filed a missing person report with APD on Oct. 1 that revealed he had been dead for over a year.
The day after the community press conference, Tuesday, Oct. 7, APD announced that they would seek an independent review of Givan’s death as it has “raised concerns from the community about circumstances surrounding the man’s death.”
Givan’s cousins, Jaivryon and Jaurdai Walker, told the Daily Lobo that Givan was not suicidal.
“We wasn’t raised to think that suicide was ever a scapegoat or ‘okay,’” Jaurdai Walker said.
In September, after not hearing from Jayvon during their closely shared birthday, Jaivryon Walker said that they began posting on social media looking for his whereabouts before filing the missing persons report with APD.
“(APD) called us that morning, and the next morning, they let us know that he had passed away, and they said he was cremated,” Jaivryon Walker said.
Moneka Stevens, a community organizer with Building Power for Black New Mexico, said that she is “not surprised” by the police reports, as similar cases nationwide are often ruled as suicides.
Last month, Trey Reed, a Black student at Delta State University, was found dead hanging from a tree on campus on Sept. 15, and a state investigation ruled Reed’s death a suicide on Sept. 18, according to the Mississippi Free Press. The case drew national attention over the cause of his death and its similarity to racist lynchings of Black people.
“They just need to do what’s right by this family. They need to do what’s right by Jayvon and have a true, proper investigation so that this family can know what happened to their child,” Stevens said.
Jaivryon Walker said that APD told her that the department tried to reach his mother to notify her of his death, but couldn’t find her contact information.
“They didn’t know that he had a big family behind him, and let me say that with a lot of frustration; Jayvon has a big family, you cannot tell me you cannot find nobody,” Jaurdai Walker said.
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Givan left Kansas City last year to go backpacking and called Jaivryon Walker about a year ago to let her know he was currently in Albuquerque. He said he was in “trouble,” but was “okay,” and the family had not heard from him since, according to the missing person report.
Jaivryon and Jaurdai Walker, said Givan liked “adventures and travel.”
“He liked to be on a skateboard, he loved Tony Hawk, even as an adult, he skateboarded. He was a rock climber,” Jaivryon Walker said.
Ryan Sorrell, Founder and Executive Editor of the Kansas City Defender — a Black nonprofit organization Sorrell founded in 2021 following the 2020 civil unrest brought about by the murder of George Floyd — published an article about Givan’s case.
“I got in contact with his cousin, Jada (Walker), who’s the one I interviewed for my piece,” Sorrel said. “I knew that it was actually a very real story and it certainly was not a hoax as a lot of people had been saying.”
In a statement to the Daily Lobo, APD Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos wrote that evidence at the scene indicated a suicide, and the Office of the Medical Investigator determined a “death by suicide.”
Gallegos wrote that OMI was responsible for notifying next of kin, and that while they made “several efforts” to do so, were unable to locate one.
When asked about when Givan’s case was officially closed by APD after the announcement of the independent investigation, the Daily Lobo did not immediately receive a response from Gallegos or APD.
“I think other family members are having a hard time coping or even acknowledging that he’s really gone because the way that we were told and the information that we were given, it was not done properly,” Jaivryon Walker said.
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Editors note 10/13/25: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Givan's body was found in Corrales. The story has been updated to clarify that his body was found in Albuquerque, near Corrales.
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
