Photo: YouTube
The death—and likely murder—of 15-year-old Quawan “Bobby” Charles, in Louisiana, is one of the latest examples of Black lives not mattering in a resurgently racist America, where Trumpism is on the rise.
Charles was laid to rest last Saturday and his parents must now face their first Thanksgiving Day without their son. Many questions regarding their child’s death still remain unanswered.
It has been a month since this Black teenager disappeared, with a white woman, under suspicious circumstances—before his dead body was found near her trailer park home. This white woman, who was last seen with Charles, is said by some sources to have suddenly disappeared.
Why is this white woman not a suspect in Charles’ death—especially, given her criminal history, which we will soon get to?
The particulars in this case gives us another example of the dangers Black people face from violently-inclined white Americans. We are killed and murdered anywhere and everywhere, including inside our homes. And we are killed by everyone including state actors.
None of us are safe from racist violence—especially, Black children like Quawan “Bobby” Charles.
Tragedies and crimes that take the lives of children usually attract the attentive action of adults. But, in America, that just isn’t the case for Black children.
Quawan “Bobby” Charles disappeared on October 30, around 3:00 PM, sometime after his father left him at home, to go to the store. According to the U.K. news outlet, The Daily Mail, Bobby left the home with a white woman named Janet Irvin, 37, and her 17-year-old son Gavin. Bobby knew Gavin.
Bobby’s father, Kenneth Jacko, called the local Baldwin Police around 7:00 PM after he couldn’t find his son—or reach him on his cellphone. According to him, the local Baldwin Police ignored his pleas regarding the urgency of the situation. There were no Amber Alerts, and police did not ping Bobby’s phone in those early hours which could’ve made all the difference. In fact, Bobby father said police told him his son was probably just at some sporting event.
Consequently, although Bobby’s father first contacted the Baldwin Police on Oct. 30, Bobby wasn’t found until November 3—when his dead body was located some 25 miles away from his home in a sugarcane field, by the local Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office. Bobby’s death has been attributed to a “likely drowning.”
But just how did he drown in a body of water said to be no more than two feet deep?
Moreover, the gruesome injuries on Bobby’s body suggests that he died a violent death. The idea that “aquatic activity” or “aquatic animals” led to the grotesque disfiguration seen on his dead body should be severely questioned with serious skepticism. The injuries to Bobby’s head have been rightly compared to the wounds of Emmett Till—who was lynched in 1955.
Quawan “Bobby” Charles’ death should disturb all Black Americans given the specifics. Here we have a 15-year-old who ends up dead after he was last seen with an adult white woman—with an interesting criminal history.
According to The Daily Mail, Janet Irvin has an extensive criminal record, which they reported includes arrests for “burglary and receiving stolen property” and for drug-related charges. The Daily Mail also said she temporarily lost custody of her two sons after the children’s father accused her of domestic violence.
Some may ask what could be the possible motive for Bobby’s death? Well, theft comes to mind here.
Bobby was a young man, even at 15-years-old, who was said to be very frugal with his money. He reportedly would sometimes have $200 or $300 dollars on him. This very fact may have led to him being targeted.
Irvin’s rap sheet which allegedly includes arrests for burglary and receiving stolen property makes her a suspect, or, at the very least a “person of interest” in Bobby’s death. We’re told Bobby was acquainted with Irvin’s son, Gavin, who apparently sold Bobby a dog. When Bobby bought this dog, did he just innocently flash too much cash, and in so doing unwittingly make himself a target for robbery?
Are these things being considered by police or are they still sticking with the accidental drowning story?
We’re told two separate autopsies found that Bobby drowned. However, besides accidental drowning, people do get drowned by the hands of other people. If Bobby drowned in such a shallow body of water, it is ridiculous to think his drowning was accidental.
Officials also suggest the disfiguration to Bobby’s body were caused by animals in the water—after he drowned. They need to explain how this would have transpired. It seems these officials are trying their best to find excuses to shift suspicion away from this white woman.
Janet Irvin apparently already admitted that Bobby was at her Chastant Trailer Park home but she claimed he left to whereabouts unknown.
Irvin drove Bobby 25 miles away from his home to her home. Just where exactly was Bobby going, especially, since he likely was not very familiar with this area? Are we to believe it’s just coincidence he ended up dead very close to her home?
The next obvious question we must ask is: why is Irvin not being treated as a suspect in the suspicious untimely death of Bobby by police, and the news media?
Irvin’s arrests for burglary and receiving stolen goods—especially as it relates to her drug related arrests—makes her the prime suspect in Bobby’s death. Despite all of this, the police apparently neither detained her, or, warned her against leaving the vicinity. We must even wonder how thoroughly she was interrogated.
Here’s something very important for us to ponder: if a Black woman with a criminal record had taken a white child, in this very same scenario, and that white child ended up dead, does anyone think that Black woman wouldn’t have been crucified in the public, if not arrested? Would police also decide not to publicize her criminal record? Would the corporate media have also decided not to publicize her name (unlike The Daily Mail) especially given her criminal record?
In such a situation, we all know there would be a massive white outcry for bloody justice.
Now nearly a month after Bobby’s disappearance and death, the police have still not answered the important questions regarding this case.
Last week, much was made about a video which purportedly shows Bobby getting into Irvin’s car by himself. This was used by some officials to suggest that because he wasn’t forced into the car that foul play should be ruled out. This is nonsense.
Bobby Charles was a teenager, like most, who are not always aware of the dangers they face at the hands of conniving grownups. Case files are filled with stories of children who fell victim to adult predations.
If Quawan “Bobby” Charles had been a white child, we would not be seening the callous indifference we’ve witnessed in this case, by police, and the corporate mainstream media.
This case is yet another example which again proves that Black lives just do not matter to many in white American society.
