Man found dead on greenway near Crabtree Creek died of gunshot to head

An autopsy shows that Rodney Lewis Clark Jr., 21, died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Clark's body was found on a trail near Crabtree Valley Mall on the afternoon of Sept. 29.

According to the police report on his death, Clark and a co-worker took the Crabtree Creek Trail to walk home from work at a nearby McDonald's. The co-worker arrived at her home at 3:20 p.m. Clark's phone showed he was searching Google at 3:36 p.m., and someone called 911 to report finding his body at 3:47 p.m.

Police did not immediately rule the case a homicide, a decision questioned by Clark's father.

"I’m just confused and upset and everything," said Rodney Clark Sr. "Everything just doesn’t add up."

He reiterated those comments Wednesday upon seeing the autopsy.

"When they first came to the house initially they told me and my brother he was shot in the back of the head ... You knew he had got shot in back of head, why didn’t you tell the public, let everyone know," Clark Sr. wonders.

The autopsy report says no weapon was found at the scene.

A Raleigh police spokeswoman explained, "Death investigations such as these are classified as such when the circumstances of the death are undetermined and accidents and self-inflicted injuries have yet to be eliminated as cause of death. Through investigative means, investigating officers have determined this case to be a homicide. The investigation remains ongoing."

Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Clark Sr. continues to ask questions on his own.

"I've been coming out on this trail each day letting people know that was my son. I've been coming out here, just on the trail, looking and talking to people."