The family of a Newberry teenager who died in December 2024 following an alleged “hunting incident” is demanding accountability over the “anguish of unanswered questions and a frustrating investigation process.”
Malachi Lancaster, 18, died Dec. 8, 2024, after his rifle “accidentally discharged” while hunting with a friend off Southwest Williston Road in Alachua County.
Since the teen’s death, his family has patiently waited on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s investigation to be completed, but their patience is wearing thin.
“… Nearly seven months have passed, and our family remains in deep sorrow, carrying not only the burden of loss but the anguish of unanswered questions and a frustrating investigation process,” the family said in a June 26 press release. “Malachi’s death certificate continues to read ‘under investigation.’ Despite months of waiting, we feel no closer to understanding what truly happened that day.”
In an interview with The Sun, Malachi’s mother, Sophie Lancaster, said the family began to scrutinize the FWC’s investigation after learning of various inconsistencies during the investigative process.
She said the family was initially told by an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputy that Malachi died after he accidentally shot himself while falling from a hunting tree stand. By the end of the day, however, she said the family was told by FWC officials that Malachi’s death was caused by a vine pulling the trigger of the rifle he was carrying.
Sophi Lancaster also said that an official report states that Malachi sustained a close-range gunshot wound to his left lower back. The bullet entered in between his 11th and 12th ribs, and then upward through his kidney, liver and heart before lodging itself in the left side of his sternum.
In a conversation the day after Malachi’s death, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the teen told the family that Malachi’s injuries did not support the witness’s account of what happened.
Despite this expert opinion, the FWC lead investigator appeared to favor a speculative “gotcha vine theory,” suggesting that a vine pulled the trigger of the rifle that Malachi was carrying, according to the press release.
Compounding this, within a month after the incident and while the investigation was still active, the sole witness’s father cleared the area of all shrubbery and replaced it with rock landscaping, eliminating any opportunity for an independent forensic review of the proposed vine scenario, according to the press release.
Despite what the family considers to be conflicting witness statements, alleged delayed investigative tactics, crime scene integrity violations, potential scene tampering and possible hunting law compliance violations, Sophie Lancaster said the family just wants to get to the facts of the incident.
“Our only goal is what any parent in our position would seek: truth, transparency, justice, and peace…,” the family’s press release states. “We will not stop seeking answers until we know that everything possible was done to honor our son’s life and uncover the truth about his death.”
Col. Brian G. Smith, director of the FWC’s law enforcement division, told The Sun in a phone interview on July 3 that the Lancaster family has been informed that the investigation is complete and that they will be receiving an official report from the FWC the week of July 7.
In remembering her son, Sophie Lancaster said Malachi was the middle of three children and a senior a Newberry High School. She said Malachi, a rising entrepreneur, planned to study building construction management after high school.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Family of Newberry teen who died in ‘hunting incident’ demands answers, accountability
Reporting by Cleveland Tinker, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
