The mother of a north suburban boy whose death was ruled a suicide shrugged off the medical examiner’s report that her son, Aquan Lewis, took his own life and blasted the school district and police department for not providing her with any informati
The mother of a north suburban boy whose death was ruled a suicide shrugged off the medical examiner’s report that her son, Aquan Lewis, took his own life and blasted the school district and police department for not providing her with any information about the incident. Instead, Angel Marshall has been learning bits and pieces about her son’s hanging from various media reports and has hired an attorney. The fifth-grader at Oakton Elementary School in Evanston was found Tuesday afternoon hanging by his shirt collar on a hook in the boy’s bathroom inside the school. It was a “suicide” by “hanging,” according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. “Why won’t anybody talk to me? I just want to know what really happened to my son. I can’t let them sweep this under the rug,” Marshall told the Defender in a raspy voice from constant crying. Published reports state that Aquan was reprimanded on Tuesday by a teacher, and he allegedly threatened to kill himself and that he was subject to taunts and violence by bullies. The 26-year-old mother, who lives in Skokie, said none of that information was provided to her, and the only details available to her is what’s been in the media and rumblings heard around the school. At a news conference Wednesday, Evanston’s police Cmdr. Tom Guenther said the incident is an ongoing “death investigation,” and the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 offered no additional information to the media or the boy’s mother. Still, Marshall refused to believe Aquan would take his own life. Aquan, one of three siblings, was scheduled to play a football game this weekend with his team, the Evanston Junior Wildkits. “My son has been through a lot, and he stayed strong. My mother took care of us until she passed away from cancer in 2004, and I didn’t have a father. Aquan always said that he wanted to take care of me just like his grandmother took care of us. There is no way he would have killed himself,” she said as she again broke down crying. Suicide in the boy’s age range is not common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2005, the most recent data available, about 12 children––nationwide––between ages 9 and 11 committed suicide, CDC statistics show. Marshall said there is apparent negligence by the school district because her son went unnoticed for an extended period of time, and his alleged threat to end his life was not addressed by the school. “He was dead too long in that school. They could have saved him,” she screamed. The school district’s spokesperson, Patricia Markham, said she could not comment because of the ongoing investigation. She also fears the police have botched the investigation by just cordoning off the bathroom where the boy was found, but not the entire 5th grade wing of the school. “Something could have happened to him before he got to the bathroom. By letting the rest of the students and whomever else is in the school still walk in that area, they are contaminating the crime scene. They (police) aren’t doing this right,” Marshall cried. Marshall was able to go into the girls’ bathroom that’s adjacent to the boys’ just to see for herself if it was remotely possible for her son to hang himself as he was said to have. But she came away with the feeling that whatever happened to Aquan, he wasn’t alone. “I heard when they found him, the stall’s door wasn’t locked. If he was going to kill himself, wouldn’t he have locked the door? Something just isn’t right about this,” she said. The mother said all she wants is answers but said it appears that she would not get them anytime soon, citing her economic status. “I’m poor, and it looks like only people with money get the answers. I just can’t let this go away and let them sweep this under the rug. I can’t let them give me a death certificate that says suicide,” Marshall said. ______ Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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