Amani Kildea, 20, whose body was found hanging in Lewis Morris Park over the weekend, was remembered this week as a “beautiful young man” with a sensitive soul and an endearing sense of humor.
“Everyone who met him, who knew him, young and old, admired him and loved him. He doubted that, but we knew it to be true,” his father, the Rev. Tom Kildea, said in an online tribute.
Kildea said Amani took his own life.
Amani Kildea was black. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed its suicide finding in a statement Wednesday aimed at quelling public speculation, amidst national concerns that hangings of black or Hispanic men in California, Texas and New York could signal a white supremacist backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement. Those deaths have been ruled suicides.
After a spokesperson for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office initially declined to comment about the Washington Township resident’s death, except to say the matter was under active investigation by county authorities, Prosecutor Fredric Knapp followed up with a brief statement:
“The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office ordinarily does not issue public
statements on active investigations. However, given the fact that unsubstantiated statements have circulated on social media, there exists a need to provide more information to the public at this time. There is no cause to believe there is any criminality involved. The Morris County Medical Examiner has determined the manner of death as suicide.”
Morris County Park Police responded to a visitor’s call shortly before 3 pm on Sunday, to the park’s Sugarloaf section in Morris Township, to investigate a report of a possible suicide by hanging.
Authorities in southern California last month deemed two such hangings there as suicides. The FBI said it would monitor those investigations after activists raised suspicions about lynchings; the family of one of the deceased men subsequently agreed with the suicide finding.
Other hangings of black and Hispanic men in New York City and Texas in recent weeks also have been ruled suicides.
‘AN UNSPEAKABLE TRAGEDY’
Adopted from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2005, at age 5, Amani was “sensitive, tender-hearted, gentle and kind. He felt deeply and was broken in ways that very few could see or would ever know,” his father said.
Amani learned English quickly, and became an “American through and through,” said his father, who is senior pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Roxbury.
Along the way, his occasional language miscues always brought a smile: A cold day might be “frisky”; a “lazy Susan” was a “spinning Mary.”
He played football for West Morris Central High School, and was scheduled to attend James Madison University in the fall.
Amani dreamed of a career with the FBI or CIA. His proudest moment came in February, when he graduated from basic training as a Military Policeman in the Army Reserves, his father said.
Bright and gifted athletically, Amani cherished time with his friends and was looked up to and admired by two younger siblings, his father said.
“Although life with Amani was often challenging, we loved him dearly. His departure from us and from this world is an unspeakable tragedy for us all. He will be a part of our family forever, and we trust he is safe in the arms of Jesus,” Tom Kildea said.
This story has been updated with information from California, Texas and New York.
All the tin foil hat crowd is out. If this were a lynching, wouldn’t the parents be at the forefront of the movement to investigate?
“Although life with Amani was often challenging, we loved him dearly.” This sentence surprises me.
My condolences to his friends and family.
I don’t believe. Someone should investigate and find out the truth.
Let this poor child Rest In Peace. My siblings knew him and he had mental health struggles. Don’t use this poor child’s death as part of your political agenda.
none of these so called suicides seem to have left a note, find it hard to believe young people wouldnt leave any reasons behind in this political mess, time of unrest or comfort their parents, something anything.
This seems like a pretty quick investigation. I have heard that someone witnessed him purchasing a rope. Is there security footage? I feel like in light of similar “suicides” across the nation, especially in majority white conservative locations, this case should be analyzed a bit differently. Is cyber communication/bullying being looked into? Was there communication to family prior to death? Who is can we email to demand a further investigation? This child deserves justice regardless of cause of death.
This is not a suicide. Release the autopsy so the real story can come to light.
He did not kill himself there is no way. The truth will be exposed soon. It always has a way of showing itself. RIP AMANI
HE GRADUATED FROM BASIC TRAINING, THEREFORE HE IS A SOLDIER! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GRADUATING BASIC TRAINING IN THE ARMY RESERVES, noted under his picture. REST IN PEACE
Hi- are there any foundations or funds for the family that we can donate to? I found a petition, but wondering if there is a gofundme or anything. I cant seem to find one.
Smh, the tell you what they want you to believe in this time I must be a fool if I believe all the recent hanging were suicide.
This is horrific !!! This was a lynching !!! Not a Suicide ! Wake up NJ!! Don’t let this be swept under the rug like so many others ! Something is going on w this family if they are not up in arms over this “ investigation “. Please rally together. We are all doing so across the US. Don’t let this be ok!!!
why would his adopted father state that life with his son was “challenging”, that is very unsettling
RIP. I have a hard time understanding why he would take his own life when he had some much he was looking forward to? It just doesn’t make sense to me.