According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the decision to close the case was made upon discovery that three of the four men believed to be responsible for the killing were deceased and that Namon Hoggle, the only surviving individual, was tried and acquitted of the crime in state court, barring him from further prosecution. Namon Hoggle died five years later on August 31, 2016, at age 81. National Public Radio investigation NPR investigative journalists Andrew Beck Grace and Chip Brantley presented the findings of a multi-year investigation in a podcast, White Lies, which aired in May and June 2019. During their investigation Grace and Brantley found an eyewitness, Frances Bowden, and a fourth man, William Portwood, who was involved in the crime. Portwood had not previously been identified. Grace and Brantley interviewed William Portwood in 2017. At that time, Portwood had suffered from strokes and was experiencing memory lapses. However, he was able to remember having been there. "All I did was kick one of them" Portwood said. Frances Bowden is the proprietor of Selma Bail Bonds, which was located adjacent to the crime scene. After the death of Namon (Duck) Hoggle, and learning that William Portwood had admitted to being involved, Bowden gave an account of what she saw that night from the window of her business. In summary, she stated that Elmer Cook, William Stanley Hoggle, Duck Hoggle, and William Portwood assaulted Reverends Reeb, Olsen, and Miller. It was Elmer Cook who swung the club and struck Reverend Reeb. William Portwood died shortly after his last interview with NPR on September 30, 2017. Media portrayals Reeb is portrayed by Jeremy Strong in the film Selma (2014). See also Viola Liuzzo List of unsolved murders References External links Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Eulogy for James Reeb", Unitarian Universalist World "Interview with two Reeb children, who talk about their father's effect on the Civil Rights Movement", HMB Review, 12 November 2008 "James Reeb", Harvard Square Library Reeb, James (1927-1965)" Martin Luther King Jr.: and the Global Freedom Struggle. "The Rev. Clark Olsen's memories of the murder of Jim Reeb in Selma in 1965." Unitarian Universalist World "James Reeb" The King Center "Clark Olsen still weeps over killing of fellow minister" March 11, 2011, in Unpunished killings, by Jerry Mitchell "James Reeb" Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University "Dr. King Leads March at Selma; State Police End