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On August 24, 1955, Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year old black male from Chicago, Illinois, visiting relatives of Leflore County, Mississippi, entered the Bryant Grocery & Meat Market in the town of Money, Mississippi. Till exited the store, and shortly thereafter the store owner's wife, a white woman, exited as well. Upon her exit, Till whistled. The relatives accompanying him knew his whistle would cause trouble, and they left with Till in haste.

On August 28, 1955, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Roy Bryant (the store owner) and J.W. Milam and at least one other person appeared at the house of Till's great uncle and abducted the boy from the home. Three days later his body was found in the Tallahatchie River. In September 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were tried for Till's murder in a Mississippi State Court and acquitted. No other charges were filed on Bryant, Milam, or any other person in connection with Till's kidnapping and murder. Roy Bryant died in 1994, and J.W Milam died in 1981.

The FBI's investigation was opened on May 7, 2004, at the request of the District Attorney in Greenwood, Mississippi, in an effort to determine if other individuals were involved in these crimes.

Below are files from the case, including our 2006 report and a transcript of the September 1955 trial.