Iberia Parish, Louisiana Sherrif Tommy Romero called the death of Quawan “Bobby” Charles an active, ongoing homicide investigation. This new development comes as protestors filled the streets and a growing list of celebrities and people expressed concerns over Quawan’s death. Beyonce posted a tribute to Quawan on her social media page. Attorney Benjamin Crump recently released a twitter statement describing the condition of Quawan’s remains as being horribly burned and bruised; and urged that anyone with information come forward.
Quawan Charles was found in a sugar cane field near Balwin, LA. The 15 year old black youth was last seen alive on October 30. After discovering that her son was missing his mother rushed to Baldwin from her residence in Iberia Parish, LA. Along the way she flagged down a Baldwin police officer and reported her son was missing. Ronald Haley, The Charles family attorney said “They told her things such as ‘Look, he’s probably at a football game; He’s probably with some friends” .
A friend of Quawan’s reported last seeing him in an automobile with a white woman and her teenage son. According to TheRoot.com the white woman was contacted by police and admitted that she picked up Quawan to “go hang out with her son,” but after that, she doesn’t know what happened”. According to TheRoot.com, an anonymous caller informed Roxanne Nelson that the white woman who picked Quawan up may know more than she was telling. Quawan’s mother has kept the entire recording from the anonymous caller.
A preliminary autopsy report was released calling Quawan’s death a possible drowning. Pictures taken by the family seem to suggest otherwise as Quawan’s remains bring to mind the disfigured body of Emmitt Till, a black teen murdered in 1955. “We think that he was tortured because his mouth,” Celina Charles, a family member said. “It doesn’t even look like Quawan has a mouth anymore. We think that he was hit in the head. We don’t know if he’d been shot.”