was it a lynching?

Well, Bob, I have no idea, of course, but I really don't believe that it was a lynching. A suicide is tragic enough, but often times, small towns see a chance to garner some publicity (bad or good) by exploiting such a notion.

I didn't read the article you posted (but have read about 5 others) but did it mention that there is video of the policement taking down the body and that the arms were not tied?