Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office Informed Quawan Charles Family, He Drowned

Quawan “Bobby” Charles went missing from his home in Louisiana on Oct. 30 and was found dead in a cane field four days later with injuries so brutal that they drew comparisons to the infamous murder of Emmett Till.

The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying the young boy was found around 5 p.m. on November 2nd in a rural area off Ed Broussard Road near the village of Loreauville.

Quawan’s parents told The Washington Post the sheriff’s office told them that their son had drowned and water was found in his lungs.

Results of an autopsy are pending as the investigation continues, the release said. The family claims the parish of St. Mary refuses to release the findings of the autopsy.

In response, the family is attempting to raise funds needed to conduct a second autopsy before his funeral.

“An individual autopsy needs to be conducted before November 12th to ensure that all findings by the medical examiner can come back conclusive. The family asks that you give what you can during this difficult time.”

Quawan’s family said they learned through a third party that a 17-year-old friend and his mother, Gavin, and Janet Irvin, had picked up Quawan around 3 p.m. the day he went missing, while his father was at a store. Kenneth Jacko, Quawan’s father, said neither he nor Quawan’s mother knew the Irvins, who are White and had not given them permission to take Quawan.