Author of Emmett Till book gave federal authorities interview recordings

(AP) – A North Carolina author who wrote about the brutal slaying of Emmett Till says FBI agents called him not long after its 2017 publication to ask about his interview with a key witness who acknowledged lying.

Timothy Tyson told reporters Thursday that he turned over interview recordings and other research materials.

Tyson's 2017 book "The Blood of Emmett Till" quotes a white woman, Carolyn Donham, as saying during a 2008 interview that she wasn't truthful when she testified that the black teen made sexual advances at a Mississippi store six decades ago.

A federal official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday that information in the 2017 book was what led federal investigators to re-examine the case. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.