A man's 16-year cold-case death in Kansas has been officially ruled a homicide after authorities exhumed his body, FBI said

• The FBI has determined that the 2004 death of Alonzo Brooks was a a homicide.

The mysterious 2004 death of Kansas man Alonzo Brooks has been ruled a homicide by the FBI, 16 years later.

Brooks, a Black man, was found dead in a creek in La Cygne, Kansas, in 2004, and authorities for years investigated whether his killing was racially motivated or a hate crime.

"We knew that Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances," said Acting US Attorney Duston Slinkard. "This new examination by a team of the world's best forensic pathologists and experts establishes it was no accident. Alonzo Brooks was killed. We are doing everything we can, and will spare no resources, to bring those responsible to justice."

The determination was made after Brooks' body was exhumed and taken to Dover Air Force Base.

The cold case investigation into Brooks' death had been dormant since 2019, and the FBI was offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone involved in Brooks' death.