Who was Quawan 'Bobby' Charles? Dead Louisiana teen's family compares his mutilated face to 1955 lynching victim
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
BALDWIN, LOUISIANA: A Louisiana teen whose body was found in a sugarcane field with his face badly mutilated has been identified as 15-year-old Quawan "Bobby" Charles. He was found dead on November 3 near the village of Loreauville four days after his father reported him missing on October 30. His death is being investigated as a homicide, the sheriff's office confirmed on November 14.
According to a report by Daily Mail, Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero said that his office is “working hard to ensure no stone is left unturned” in determining what led to the death of the Black teen, whose disappearance had sparked speculation on racial crime.
Sheriff Romero said that footage showed Quawan was alone when he was last seen alive. According to the report, no arrests have been made yet but investigators are said to have interviewed unidentified people who may have been with the boy before his death.
“We want to remind the public that this is an active, ongoing homicide investigation. We urge anyone who has any additional information which might aid our investigation to come forward and contact the Iberia Parish Sheriff´s Office at 337-369-3711,” Romero said.
Daily Mail reported that that the teen's family filed a missing person report on October 30 in the St Mary Parish town of Baldwin. The boy’s body was found the evening of November 3 about 20 miles away in the woods near the Iberia Parish town of Loreauville. When authorities went to his father's – Kenneth Jacko — home, they suggested to him that he may have gone to the football game.
However, the teenager’s parents later found out that he had been picked up from his home by Janet Irvin and her 17-year-old son Gavin, who are White. Quawan's parents say they do not know the Irvins and were not aware of how their son knew them. They never gave him permission to go with them.
Demonstrators and the state NAACP president have called for "justice" for Quawan. A fundraising page has been set up on GoFundMe to raise $15,000 for an independent autopsy and other expenses. As mentioned in Daily Mail, the page shows a photo of Bobby’s face next to one of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955. It had raised more than $250,000 from more than 13,000 donors at the time of publishing.
Ron Haley, one of three civil rights attorneys representing Quawan's family, said they are waiting for the results of an independent autopsy. “We certainly hope that the Sheriff Office and all of the local agencies are putting more energy in solving the mystery of Quawan's death than they did in trying to find him when he was reported missing,” Haley said via email in response to Romero's statement.
An ABC News report stated that Haley said he was not sure whether the damage to Quawan's face was caused by violence or by decay from days in Louisiana’s humid heat. The report also states that an independent autopsy by American Forensics of Mesquite, Texas, is expected to answer that and other questions, he said.
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