Deundray Cottrell, Gay Dancer and PhD Student from Atlanta, Found Dead in Alabama

Instagram/@vibesbydre

This article is about the death of a gay black man.

Deundray Dominique Cottrell, a 31-year-old Atlanta resident who was reported missing after visiting his sister in Birmingham, Alabama, has been found dead.

Cottrell’s sister, Angelica Harris, told AL.com, an Alabama-based news outlet, that Cottrell arrived in Birmingham on Thursday with Julian Morris, whom his family has identified as a romantic partner, to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. Harris said that around 10 p.m., as fireworks were going off, Cottrell went inside to check on his dog.

“He went to see the dog and I never saw him again,” Harris said.

According to Harris, Morris told them Cottrell ran into the backyard, where they later found some of Cottrell’s belongings, including a shoe and his cell phone. The family reported that Morris had been behaving erratically before Cottrell disappeared, according to AL.com.

Footage from several nearby surveillance cameras showed Cottrell running through gardens and jumping over a fence. “It looked like he was looking for shelter,” Harris said. “He was running for his life.”

On Saturday, shortly before 3 p.m., police discovered Cottrell’s body in the shed of a vacant home in Birmingham. As of Sunday, local NBC affiliate WVTM reported Cottrell’s death as a homicide. Morris is a person of interest in the ongoing investigation, according to a news release from the Birmingham Police Department.

Cottrell’s sister also told local station WSBTV that while others were looking for Cottrell, Morris didn’t. “While we were looking, Julian didn’t,” she said. “At one point, while everyone was looking, Julian had a plate ready and was sitting there eating, and he looked at me and said, ‘Oh my God, this food is so good.'”

She said she believed Morris knew more than he let on. “Julian knows everything and he kept reminding me throughout his rants that he was a Marine,” she said.

According to AL.com, Cottrell was studying for a PhD and also worked in marketing. He was also a dancer and the CEO of Skiiboyz Entertainment, an Atlanta-based dance trio that, according to the troupe’s Instagram profile, included Morris and another partner, DeEric Garnell. The trio had tens of thousands of followers on Instagram. Garnell wrote a tribute to Cottrell on his personal Instagram, accompanied by videos and pictures of the two dancing and kissing.

“RIH my beautiful angel,” Garnell wrote. “The first day I met you I knew you were MY person. Our bond remained strong and no one could test it.”

He continued, “We were each other’s Yin and Yang. I was the crazy, energetic spirit while you complimented me with your smooth, laid-back vibes. We watched each other grow from little boys to handsome grown men. We stayed strong for 14 years!!!!! We graduated together. We started our lives in Atlanta together.”

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Originally appeared on them.