Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Teen boy Quawan Charles goes missing, found facedown in mud of sugarcane field

Episode Date: December 3, 2020

Quawan Charles, 15, leaves his father's home with a friend without permission. His parents report him missing to the police, but no AMBER Alert is issued. The teen is found four days later facedown in the muddy mire of a sugarcane field. His parents are outraged and demanding answers from local authorities.Joining Nancy Grace today: Ronald Haley Jr. -  Attorney for the Charles family  Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Beverly Hills, ww.drbethanymarshall.com  Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet" featured on "Poisonous Liaisons" on True Crime Network  Ray Caputo - Lead News Anchor for Orlando's Morning News, 96.5 WDBO Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How does a teen boy, a homebody who loves his dog, end up face down in a field dead by drowning? Well, this young boy's family says this was no accident. We want justice. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Take a listen to what we know about this young boy. Kawan Bobby Charles had just moved from Youngsville, Louisiana to Baldwin to live with his father.

He had just started a new school. His family says he was a quiet 15-year-old and slender. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed just 112 pounds. A local newspaper reports Charles' dad is saying the teen had recently saved his allowance to buy a computer and he got a dog that he loved. He named the dog My Baby. On October 30th, Roxanne Nelson noticed her son was missing around 3 p.m. and began calling around to find him. Soon after, Nelson and Bobby Charles' father called 911. And this young boy had just turned 15. He was just a little over 14 years old. That's one year older than my twins, John, David, and Lucy. Think about it.

Think about it. How in the hay does he end up dead face down in a field, dying of drowning? With me, an all-star panel to break you down and put it back together again, Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst to the stars, joining us from Beverly Hills. And you can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. Professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, and star of a brand new hit series, Poisonous Liaisons on the True Crime Network, is death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan.

Lead news anchor for Orlando's WDBO, Ray Caputo, and special guest joining us, Ronald Ron Haley Jr., practices out of Baton Rouge, but really all over the country. And he is the lawyer for this young boy's family. First of all, to you, Ray Caputo, explain to me the movements of Kwan that morning, Kwan Bobby Charles. Well, he was in his home in Baldwin. That's about 35 minutes from where he just recently moved from Youngsville, and that's just south of Lafayette.

So we see him on video. He's sitting on a curb, and a car drove by, and apparently this car had a friend's mother who was driving, and one of his young friends was also driving. Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You got me drinking from the fire hydrant. It's too much, too fast. So that day you're telling me Ray Caputo, WDBO, was a day like others.

He was at home where he and his dad were living. And around 3 o'clock, he what? He gets into a car, leaves, comes back. It looks like a bunch of people got out. They go into the backyard and they get back in the car. I don't know if it was a bunch of people got out, and they go into the backyard, and they get back in the car. I don't know if it was a bunch of people. Maybe you and I interpret the facts differently.

Take a listen to our friend Jerika Duncan, CBS. Police say video from the day Kawan Charles went missing shows the teenager sitting outside his home on the afternoon of October 30th. A silver car passes in front of him, and Charles appears to run after the vehicle. Several minutes later, the same car returns and pulls into Charles' driveway. A silver car passes in front of him and Charles appears to run after the vehicle. Several minutes later, the same car returns and pulls into Charles's driveway. According to police, three people, including the 15-year-old, then exit the vehicle and head into his backyard. They then return to the car and drive away. It's my understanding to Ron Haley Jr., this is the lawyer for Kwan Bobby Charles' family, that they go into the backyard to pet my baby, the dog.

I mean, this is a kid who is saving up his allowance to buy a computer and hangs out with the family dog. It sounds like Opie in Mayberry, for Pete's sake. So I don't see anything nefarious about friends driving by. And as it turns out, I believe it was a friend and the friend's mom. But they drive by. He actually chases after the vehicle. On the video, you see the vehicle come back, and they all go into the backyard. And what I think happened in the backyard, although it's not on video, is that they played with the dog. Then they got back in the car and left. Is that your

understanding of the facts so far, Ron Haley Jr.? At that point, yes. Okay. That's the fact because we appreciate it. So it doesn't sound to me like he was kidnapped by these people. Who are the people, Ron Haley Jr.? So the people, the woman's name is Janet Irvin, and her son, I don't want to get the son's name out, although it has been released because he is a juvenile, and I do respect that. But that was his friend, a buddy from school that he knew from around the way. He got into Janet's car with the 17-year-old son and drove off about 25 to 30 miles away from his father's residence. The issue that we have with that is why wasn't his parents notified?

That's a good point because my children are, they just turned 13, Ron Haley Jr. And that's about a year younger than Kawan. And let me tell you something. I know where they are. I know where they are right now. tell you something. I know where they are. I know where they are right now. And I'm going to know where they are 24-7, 365 until they go to college. God help me. So I would have a big problem with anybody coming and getting the twins or one of the twins without me knowing. But that, of course, is not a crime. Back to you, Ray Caputo. So I don't hear a bunch of people.

I hear this friend from school and the friend's mom, and they go in the backyard and pet the dog. So, so far, I'm not hearing anything nefarious. As a matter of fact, take a listen again to our friends at CBS. The family's not questioning the veracity of the video. However, our interest is now solely focused on what occurs as soon as that video stops. Chase Trishel is a lawyer for the family of Kwan Charles. He says the video supposedly showing the 15-year-old willingly leaving his home with two people does little to explain why police never issued an Amber Alert

after Charles' parents reported him missing on October 30th. Yeah, I've got questions about why an Amber Alert was never issued as well. To Ray Caputo, joining me, WDBO. Ray Caputo, so we know he's alive and well around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He's there at home with his dog. So he leaves with the friend and the friend's mom. Now I would have been a little suspicious about an older friend, the friend 17, I believe, Ron Haley Jr. said, without the family knowing where he was going. But you've got the mom in the car. And in my mind, that makes it not as concerning. So where do we think he went then,

Ray Caputo? Well, 25 miles away to the friend's house, I believe it's called Lauraville, and it's about 25 minutes away. So they hung out and that was the last anybody had ever seen of him. So we have this young boy, Kawan Bobby Charles, with his friends about 30 miles from home. Now, what you have to understand to Ron Haley Jr., the lawyer, a 30-minute drive is not a big deal in that part of the world, except for the parents didn't know where he was. What do you think about that, Ron? No, I agree with you on that standpoint. And to make it in a legal context, they're all a part of the same judicial district. So they are right by each other.

I think the bigger issue is that his parents didn't know that nobody came out of Kawan's house. His dad didn't come out, say hey where you going when you're going to bring him back you know all the things that whenever look when your twins go spend a night somewhere else by somebody's house you absolutely know the parents telephone number you know where they're going to be what they're going to be doing uh none of that happened and as a father myself if i went picked up one of my little girl's friends from their parents house and mom and dad not home,

I'm calling them on the phone to make sure I can pick them up. The idea that, hey, it's cool for me to come over, it doesn't cut the muscle of me as a dad. That's not happening. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace guys we were talking about the disappearance and the unusual death of a teen boy real homebody kawan bobby charles in rural louisiana So many questions surrounding his disappearance. And then how does this young boy end up dead face down in a field dead by drowning? With me, in addition to our

panel, Dr. Bethany Marshall, Joseph Scott Morgan, and Ray Caputo, special guest joining us, Ronald Healy Jr., the lawyer for the victim's family. I'm with you on that, and I am not above driving by where one of the twins is spending the night and taking a look at the house. And if I can see inside, that's all the better. Because I want to know, my children are all right. Am I understanding, Ron Healy Jr., that Kwan's dad was home when Kwan left? That's our appreciation of it.

Around 3 o'clock, Kwan's dad was actually home. But what happened from then until he realized that Kwan wasn't home, we don't know. So, okay. Dad assumed he was in the room. To you, Ray Caputo, at 3 o'clock he's gone. What happens next? Well, eventually his parents realize that he's missing, and his mom and his dad, they call Baldwin Police.

And they say that they can't find our son. But what they don't do is they don't issue an AMBER alert. They start to ask questions. Even the family and the lawyer can tell you that they said that maybe he's at a football game, even though Kwan doesn't like sports. So they immediately didn't take it seriously or as seriously as they could have. Let me nail this down, Ray Caputo. Ray Caputo, lead anchor at WDBO.

What time did the parents say, okay, this isn't right? Where's Kwan? And they call police. What time did that happen? My recollection was in the evening around 8 o'clock. To Ron Haley Jr., is that correct? That's correct. So did they do a cursory search before they called police?

I'm trying to figure out when they first realized Kawan's gone. Well, when he wasn't answering his mother's calls, because the mother was supposed to pick him up to get a haircut that weekend. I don't know if that was her weekend with Kawan or they were just supposed to do some activities together. But when he didn't answer the phone, she asked the father to go to his room. When the father went to the room, they realized that Kawan was not there. And he was a real homebody. Guys, this teen boy goes missing. The parents have no idea where he is. So Ray Caputo, they call early evening. And by the time they realize he's missing, say around seven o'clock, they do a search.

Then they call police around 8 p.m. And is that correct? Ron Healy Jr., a lawyer joining us out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Is that correct that at first the cops say, well, did he go to a football game? Was this what, a Friday night? It was a Friday night. So yes, the officers did say that he's probably at a football game or at a friend's house playing games, not to worry. They put his name in the missing children's database or missing persons database and that's about it and i have a problem with that listen if there's a one percent chance to prevent what happened to kawan trawls uh you take that chance and put all efforts put boots on the ground to find

this missing kid you have to do it and i don't care if 99 of the time you find him at a friend's house he goes home gets punished gets a sp whatever. You take that chance. And they just failed. They failed miserably. I think this case is a tale of two stories. One, what happened to Bobby? And two, what could have been done to prevent what happened to Bobby? And Ron Haley Jr., are police saying why they did not issue an Amber Alert immediately? Because we don't know time of death. We don't know that. Is there a chance if they had issued an Amber Alert and people put his face on TV, put it up on the interstate, put it, you know, where those flashing signs are? I see them all the time. If someone had seen him in the local area and could have

reported it, if they had known, and you know what this makes me think of? Hold your horses. Everybody, Joe Scott Morgan, we covered this together as I did with you, Dr. Bethany. The case of Cherish a Periwinkle, a little girl that goes missing in Florida. She's at a superstore like a Walmart or a Target superstore. And the perp, as she gets her to leave the superstore, her mom doesn't realize it until she goes up front and Cherish is gone. Can't find Cherish. The cops get there and they give the mother, Rain, a really hard time and think this is something to do with a custody dispute. And hours pass, hours.

And the whole time, Cherish Periwinkle is getting tortured and raped by her killer. And then only after they put it on the news and the potential vehicle on the news is it found. And putting it on the news changed everything. Remember that, Joe Scott? Yes, I do. She was actually strangled to death, Nancy. It was right around Christmas time. And it's a heartbreaking case.

And I hate to hear that name again because it was so horrible in the context that in a timely fashion, instead of their default position, which is, well, you know, it's just another custody case. Mom and dad aren't getting along or whatever. This little girl could have been saved. And I think that that's the tragedy behind this, when police just go to this default position and they don't react. Once he had a football game. So let me go back to Ron Haley Jr., the lawyer for the victim's family. He practices outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ron, when I think about that, that could his life have been saved had an Amber Alert been issued? I mean, you have to look

at the time of death. And why is that? Because at the time he was reported missing, say 7 to 8 p.m. at night, he's been gone since 3. He may have already been dead, but we don't know that. As a matter of fact, take a listen to what police say about why they did not issue an Amber Alert. Well, there was no evidence of foul play whatsoever. There was no eyewitnesses on an abduction or even a kidnapping. And since it did not meet the criteria, we did not feel there was a reason for an Amber Alert. But we did put him in NCIC once again as a missing person or missing slash runaway because I was told that he was known to hide from the family every now and again throughout the backyard sometimes. But that's the reason why we didn't do AMBA alert. We did put him

in NCIC. We did call him the area. Known to hide from the family. That's the very first I've heard that, Ron Haley Jr. No, I mean, that's an excuse and absolutely ridiculous. Further, you don't even have to do an Amber Alert. In Louisiana, we have something that's called a level two advisory, right, where at least they would notify all the local news outlets, and they could on their own decide to put this information out. What's sad is that at his memorial on November the 5th, when the news stations came out to cover it,

they didn't even know that a kid was dead, let alone a child went, went missing. They could have done more than the bare minimum. Here's the criteria, Ron Haley. Law enforcement must confirm an abduction has taken place. The child must be at risk of serious injury or death. There must be sufficient descriptive information of the child, the captor, or the vehicle. And the child has to be under 17. Just because they saw him leave at 3 o'clock in the afternoon,

willingly, does not mean a kidnap did not happen. When he is not home by eight o'clock at night and he's not answering his cell, that's totally out of character. To me, that screams kidnap. I mean, what do you need? A video of him kicking and screaming, being dragged off into a white van, Haley? Well, Nancy, here's an important distinction. The police did not access that video until after Kawan was dead. Ah, so they had no idea even that he had left willingly.

Okay, that's a big problem. A lot of this is going to center on time of death. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about the disappearance and the death of a young boy, just turned 15, only weighed 112 pounds, soaking wet, found dead face down in a field. We are trying to determine what went wrong and the true COD cause of death, not only the COD of Kawan Bobby Charles,

but how that happened. How was he drowned? He was found all alone. Why would he go out into the middle of a field, a sugar cane field, and go face down in the water? And the water is only about ankle high. Why? Why would that happen? Take a listen to this. On November 2nd, the 15-year-old's body

was found in a sugar cane field in Laureville, 30 minutes from his home. The coroner's office says the teen likely drowned and had no injuries before his death. They also ruled that the wounds on his face happened after his death and were likely caused by aquatic animals. But according to the family's attorneys, the water in the sugar cane field is very shallow. Those bodies of water barely go up to your knees. And so this isn't that Kwan trying to go for a swim. I want to go to Ron Haley Jr., the lawyer for the victim's family. Tell me about the discovery of Kawan's body. And for your audience listening, you do not need a warrant to ping a cell phone. That case law is out there. You ping that cell phone, you find him because a drone was able to locate his body just hours after his cell phone was pinged.

That's frustrating. So you're telling me the police could have pinged his phone immediately when he was reported missing. And I'll tell you what I think is a critical time, Ron Haley Jr., and that is when his mother was trying to call him and he wasn't picking up. He was never known not to pick up when his parents called. Right then, he was in trouble by not picking up. When she called, the dad said, hey, where is he? By then, it was too late. Take a listen to what police say in response. This is reported by KFLY 10.

We did not drop the ball. We did everything within our powers to help this family. When Kwon Charles' mother called police at 804 on October 30th, Baldwin police say they immediately began their search for him. Started thinking, started talking, started hitting the streets, beating the streets, because that's what I do initially. After searching for Charles at local events, Baldwin police filed a missing persons report at 1034 that night into a national database for missing people. They did follow protocol. They did everything by the book. And take a listen to more of that.

You're hearing, is it real? Is this really what happened? Do police really think they went by the book? Or is this what we call CYA? Take a listen to our cut number nine, KFLY. Wise says he was on vacation when Charles was reported missing, but came home on November 2nd to help with the investigation. He says Baldwin police officers spoke with people closest to Charles

and dug up surveillance footage to track his last movements. And my officer stayed in touch with the family the whole weekend. The father told me himself that my officer stayed in touch with him the entire weekend trying to locate his kid because we do care. I appreciate that they care, but why not ping the phone? Take a listen to Britt LaFazzo, TNKFLY. Iberia Parish officials say they were not aware of the teen's disappearance until November 3rd. That's when Charles's family contacted the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office. Iberia Parish authorities found Charles' body in Lauraville after pinging his cell phone. The body was found in a field near the home of the family last seen with Charles. Baldwin police are now facing criticism from Charles' family

as well as on social media. Facebook and social media has cost so much within my department. We receive threats every day. We receive emails every day. And some of the guys are wondering, are we going to be okay? All right. They dropped the ball. They should have pinged the phone immediately and put him out as an Amber Alert and gotten his face on local media.

It could have saved his life. But they're not the ones that killed this young boy. So you got two competing issues here. What happened to Kawan Bobby Charles and the police dropping the ball? I want to circle back to Ron Haley Jr., the lawyer for the victim's family, I appreciate that the cops care and that they did what they did do. But staying in touch with the family, while I appreciate that, that is not issuing an Amber Alert and that is not pinging his phone. You're absolutely right.

And that's what really aggravates the legal team. That's what really frustrates and aggravates the family, that the sheriff's office, state police should have been contacted immediately. What your audience needs to know is that the Baldwin Police Department is a very small police department. They do not have a lot of officers. And so they should have immediately sought the assistance of neighboring law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction there. Baldwin is the city, and Iberia Parish is the county, so to speak, for those who aren't familiar with our parish county system in Louisiana. That should have been done immediately. And if that cell phone is pinged, we believe Bobby Charles would be alive.

And so I get it. Yeah, you care, but you need more than caring. We need boots on the ground. We needed this to be taken seriously. And we feel that this matter wasn't taken seriously. Now we have the issue of what happened. I mean, you know, the reality, Ron Haley Jr., words are cheap. I can tell anybody all day long I care. Show me. Show me you care.

Do what you're supposed to do. Take a listen to Janae Norman at ABC News. Kwan was a good kid, a loving child. You know, I loved him and he loved me. A mother mourning the loss of her son and questioning whether 15-year-old Kwan Charles was murdered. I cannot sleep at night like I want to. I'm constantly thinking about my son and trying to figure out exactly how he died. The family says Kwan disappeared and they reported him missing October 30th. Video from that day shows him being picked up by a friend and the friend's mother. His body was found November 3rd in a sugar cane field about 20 miles away, his face barely recognizable. Roxanne Nelson believes

police could have saved her son had they acted faster. They could have done more. They didn't. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. Had they done what they were supposed to do, my son would be alive today. You know, another issue, I just heard the Iberia Parish officials saying they were not aware Kwan was missing until November 3. Ron Haley? Everybody's trying to hide the ball and shift blame on each other. And that's sad in a situation like this. We need truth and we need accountability. And I share the frustration of the family. I believe that if he was of a different color, they would have cared more. We have FBI statistics that prove that, that black children make up 14% of the children population in this country, yet make up 38% of missing children.

Yet of those missing children, only 7% of cases involving Black kids get the benefit of having an Amber Alert. Also, listen, this is a practical question. Nancy, you have kids. If one of your kids went with me and I didn't let you know and he or she ended up like that, I'm in jail right now. Well, first of all, I'd have you arrested. Second of all, I'd have you disbarred. Then I'd burn your house down and blow up your car. But that aside, I hear what you're saying. Try to figure something out about the COD. Ronald Haley Jr. is with me. He is the lawyer for the Charles family. Take a listen to Elwin Lopez, ABC 7. A preliminary autopsy report listed the teen's cause of death as, quote, likely drowning. The 15-year-old's cousin says

Charles's severely disfigured face tells a different story. His face tells it all. On the left side of his face, there is like a knot. On the right side, there's like an incision. The same coroner's report suggesting any injuries on his face happened after his death and, quote, are likely aquatic animal activity. A person that's deceased can't talk, so you don't know his side of the story. Justice for Kawan. In response to that preliminary autopsy report, the teen's family said in a statement that the water where he was found was ankle deep and that they believe he could

not have drowned without outside influences. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. What was the COD cause of death on this boy? First of all, to Joseph Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensics, Death Investigator, so much of this really depends on the time of death and the cause of death. But I find it very hard to believe that this teen boy goes out into the middle of a sugar cane field and throws himself down, face down into ankle deep water and drowns. That did not happen. No, no, it wouldn't have. And I think that the question that has to be asked is, is how do you reconcile the fact that his lungs are in fact hyperinflated

per the autopsy report? They are heavy and it's muddy water. So he has obviously inhalated this muddy water. So he was alive while he was face down. In addition to that, he's also got this muddy water contained in what's referred to as the sphenoid sinuses, which is something in suspected drownings, we open these in the head at autopsy, and we inspect these areas to see if there is in fact water there. And there was. Now, the question is this, how does a seemingly healthy 15 year old wind up in a position where he's incapable of coming, facilitating himself from rising up out of the water? Because, you know, as it's mentioned, Nancy, it's only ankle deep. So I think my question would be, was he held down? Was he pressed down? Was there something that was going on metabolically in his system? I don't know what his tox report is. I have no idea.

And so all this stuff needs to be revealed so that we can get to the heart of the matter. Well, I'm sure you recall the case of Andrea Yates, the mother that murdered her children by drowning. Even the little baby, I believe the little baby girl's name was Mary, had bruises around her face and neck, as I recall, where she tried to live. Even an infant tried to live. So wouldn't you expect to find, Joseph Scott Morgan, some type of bruising around Kawan Charles' face and neck?

Well, yeah, particularly since, let's keep in mind, he's in a prone position, which means face down. So the bruising I would be looking for would be, say, for instance, on the backside of his neck. That is, you're forcing him down. Now, I've seen a very crude image that has been out on the net relative to this image that we have of him in death. And being from South Louisiana myself and having worked a number of these cases, the aquatic life that they're referring to specifically is crayfish or crawfish, as we say. And I think that that's probably what is creating these post-mortem injuries. And I haven't seen all of the evidence, but just based on this image that I'm seeing, it would appear that these are consistent with post-mortem injuries. However, we still have to go back to the drowning. How does a 15-year-old get into this position? And that's the big question. I'm not aware, and maybe counsel has an answer to this. I don't know. Is he physically impaired some way? Has he had any kind of health problems? I would, as a medical legal death investigator, I would want answers to those questions. To Ron Haley Jr. answers. No health problems in regards to Kwan Charles. We are

anxiously waiting the tox report to see if that can give clue. I think that would be a big piece of the puzzle as to how this possibly could happen. If there is something in the tox report, then we want to know how did he get there, there right i mean he's you know with this adult and her son 20 miles away from his family's house without permission uh how does this happen if that's in fact um the case i just don't understand why they didn't call the police when he went missing and i'm speaking of the urban family uh because obviously at some point they knew he didn't walk home. Don't they give a story that he stated he was leaving and they say, well, where are you going? And they never get an answer and that he left on foot. That's the understanding I had.

Of course, he's 20 miles away from home. Why would he leave on foot? It's ridiculous. I don't believe that's what happened. I don't believe them at one bit. Listen, just as a parent, again, I'm not even talking as a lawyer. As a parent, if one of my kids' friends said, look, I'm out of here. I'm going.

Hey, where are you going? And you're not telling me? You're not leaving my house, and I'm calling your mama and your daddy. Any normal person would do that. And so their story isn't cutting a muscle with me either. To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us from Beverly Hills at drbethanymarshall.com. Dr. Bethany, we are parsing the evidence fairly coolly. But, you know, we're talking about so many different aspects of the disappearance and death of this teen boy.

But for the family, it's just one huge nightmare. Nancy, the worst kind of nightmare is when you lose touch and contact with your child and you have no idea what happened to them. As I say so often on your show, you know, when you have a child, when we have a child, our primary feeling goal is to ensure the safety of that child throughout the lifespan. And the idea that that child would go missing and that you would have no idea what would happen to them. Nancy, the family he was with apparently was the family that he got the dog, my baby, from. So there was this great familiarity with the family. But when they say that he just took off on foot, if they're 20 to 30 miles away from his home

residence, that makes no sense at all. This reminds me of babysitting stories where somebody goes and babysits a child and something terrible happens. And then they make up some cockamamie story. Oh, the child fell off the bed. The child hit his head. And then you realize, you learn afterwards when you piece all the evidence together that something really terrible happened in that home. So I would want to take a look at? What would have motivated her to take this little boy from his home without calling the parents first? Kawan hid in the backyard of his family home. Do

you know what that means? It means he's young, naive, and playful. He was still at a developmental age where hiding behind a bush was exciting to him. That's how vulnerable this little boy was. You know, Dr. Bethany, when you say it like that, it about breaks my heart. To Ron Haley Jr., is it true this family, the mother and the son and whoever else lived there, has packed up and moved? That's correct. Why? According to sources on the ground, they allegedly got evicted.

I find it very convenient that they would move the week of Kwan's death once it made public, but that's the story they're sticking to. I want to talk about Ron Haley Jr., the mother, when she saw Kawan's body, she ran out of the examination room at the morgue screaming because of the disfigurement to his face. Is that true, Ron Haley Jr.? Unfortunately, that is true. Is there going to be an independent autopsy, Mr. Haley? We did conduct an independent autopsy. Those results were similar to that of the coroner's report. They did not give a cause of death, though, in the one that we received. And that's common in drowning cases and when they are the one doing the second autopsy,

that a lot of evidence potentially gets lost. The body is likely at least wiped down or cleaned by the time it gets to the morgue. And so a lot of the findings were inconclusive. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.