Woman and son who last saw Louisiana teen Quawan Charles, 15, alive before his body was found in sugar cane field say he smoked marijuana in their trailer before disappearing
The two people who last saw 15-year-old teenager Quawan Charles alive say the boy smoked marijuana before he vanished from their trailer, days before being found dead in a sugar cane field last month.
Quawan, 15, was found dead in a sugar cane field on November 3, four days after he vanished from his family's home in Baldwin, Louisiana.
He'd been picked up from his house by Janet Irvin, 40, and her 17-year-old son Gavin, gone to their home and then apparently left without telling them where he was going.
Quawan attended school with Gavin before switching to a new school. His family say they'd never met Gavin.
They are the last known people to see him alive but say he left their trailer on his own without telling them where he was going. The Irvins have not spoken publicly and have not been arrested or otherwise implicated by the police in Quawan's death.
In the days after Quawan's death, they appear to have they moved out of their home. People were seen boxing up items and putting them into a U-Haul last month.
Quawan, 15, was found dead in a sugar cane field on November 3, four days after he vanished from his family's home in Baldwin, Louisiana. He'd been picked up from his house by Janet Irvin and her 17-year-old son Gavin, gone to their home and then apparently left without telling them where he was going. Janet Irvin, 37, (pictured) temporarily lost the custody of two of her three children.
According to family spokeswoman Charles, the teenage boy was picked up by Irvin and her 17-year-old son Gavin (pictured) at home in the nearby town of Baldwin on the afternoon of October 30
DailyMail.com visited the Chastant Trailer Park where Quawan was last seen alive and witnessed the crushing poverty of Louisiana's agricultural countryside, with many of the trailers damaged, unstable, un-maintained or just too old to be comfortable
No one has been arrested and police in Louisiana say that two preliminary autopsies indicate that Quawan died by drowning in ankle-deep water in the field.
His family reject that theory. They believe he was beaten to death in a racial hate crime and that the cops are refusing to investigate it properly because the boy was black.
Janet, in a recording that was taken by a private investigator and was obtained by CBS This Morning, is heard describing picking him up that afternoon and admitting she should have phoned police when she found out that he didn't arrive home that night.
The boy's family did phone the police but say they were dismissed.
'Yes, I should have called the cops. I should have went further,' she said in the recording that was taken by private investigators hired by the Charles family's attorney.
It is not clear if she knew she was being recorded, but she went on: 'I get off of work at like noon, Friday. So, we go out to Baldwin. We pick him up.'
Quawan was last seen at his father's home in Baldwin on October 30. His body was found 25 miles north three days later
The teenager's body was found in a sugar cane field in rural Louisiana on November 3
The investigator then asked Gavin if the pair smoked drugs together and he said they did.
'Yeah, he smoked some weed. That was it,' the teenager said.
It's unclear if Janet knew the pair were smoking or not but the Charles' family lawyers say that she should be charged with 'serving minors'.
'Janet Irvin could be charged with delinquency to minors, serving minors drugs.
'There is enough evidence right now, in our opinion, to arrest her for a slew of charges. She knew something was wrong and did nothing.
'It speaks volumes as to what her involvement was in this case,' attorney Ronald Haley told CBS.
The investigators say they are going to give the recording to police to compare notes.
The boy's family say that they hope a toxicology report will prove that drugs might have contributed to his death.
Quawan had horrific injuries on his face when he was found days after going missing.
The preliminary autopsy reports say that those were the doing of 'aquatic' animals and that no foul play is involved.
But his family say he is the victim of a racist hate attack and unmotivated police force.
Quawan's family say that he is the victim of a hate crime that police are refusing to investigate
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