The case of a Black man who died following a party in rural Kansas more than 16 years ago has been ruled a homicide after his body was exhumed as federal authorities investigate his death as a possible hate crime.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says that a new autopsy on the body of Alonzo Brooks concluded the cause of death was homicide.

His body was exhumed last year from a Topeka cemetery, and transported to Dover Air Force Base for an examination.

Brooks was 23 when he disappeared after attending a party near La Cygne in May 2004.

His family later found his body in a creek near where the party was held.

The FBI reopened the investigation in 2019, and offered a $100,000 reward for information.

The new autopsy focused on injuries to parts of Brooks’ body that the examiner concluded are inconsistent with normal patterns of decomposition, the FBI said.