The death of Pharrell Williams’ 25-year-old cousin Donovon Lynch has been ruled a homicide, New York Post reports. Lynch was shot and killed by Virginia Beach police in April. The official ruling in Lynch’s autopsy report has now opened the door for a state grand jury investigation into his death. The documents in court said that Lynch died by two gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on the scene. However, no criminal charges have been pressed against the officers involved.
The homicide ruling is a small victory for Lynch’s family who’ve made public calls for justice. Pharrell previously called for a federal probe into the death of Donovon, saying there were “too many unanswered city and state questions.”
Wayne Lynch, Donovon’s father, filed a $50M wrongful death lawsuit accusing Virginia Beach Solomon Simmons III of “unlawfully and without warning” shoot his son in response to a separate shooting that happened a block away. Police claimed that Lynch brandished a firearm but Darrion Marsh, a friend of Donovon who witnessed the fatal shooting, said he “did not see Lynch pull out a gun before he was shot and that Simmons opened fire without warning as Marsh and Lynch retreated to their car following two earlier shootings that left one dead and eight injured.”
Marsh added that he and Donovon were not involved in the shooting that occurred a block away.