The body of Otis Byrd, a black man found on Thursday hanging from a tree in Mississippi, has been transferred from a state crime lab to a funeral home, but the FBI indicated that autopsy results will not be known for a few days. Until then, investigators are not making a determination on whether Byrd was murdered or took his own life, and they’re urging patience from Port Gibson residents.

The community deserves answers. Specifically, the family deserves answers,” said Don Alway, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Jackson, to a crowd Friday gathered outside the Claiborne County Courthouse in Port Gibson. Preliminary information about Byrd’s cause of death is expected next week.

“We’re doing everything in our power to be transparent, to talk about what’s going on so far,” continued Alway. “But we want to reiterate that individual, single pieces of information and bits of rumors, we’re going to hold off on speaking to those until we can collectively come to a conclusion and get you the truth that everybody deserves.”

The 54-year-old oil rig worker was reported missing by his family more than two weeks ago. Byrd lived just 200 yards from the location where his body was found, in woods behind his house.

Byrd served 26 years in prison for fatally shooting a woman while robbing $101 from her convenience store in 1980. He was last seen on March 2, by a friend who dropped him off at a casino in Vicksburg.

Friends of Byrd insist that he was not the type to commit suicide.

“He always had a smile on his face. I just can’t see him committing suicide,” said Lora McDaniel, a high school classmate who attended church with Byrd and his family.

“He was a quiet man. He didn’t bother nobody,” added Anita Smith, another high school classmate. “He had been out nine years and all of the sudden this happens to him? Impossible.”

Byrd’s death is being investigated by the FBI, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s office as well as the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. These officials are involved to determine if it’s a potential hate crime or other violation of federal law, said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.