Quawan Charles mourned, remembered in public funeral
Quawan Charles, the Black Louisiana teen who died in "suspicious" circumstances earlier this month, was laid to rest on Saturday.
The funeral service took place at the West St. Mary Civic Center in Jeanerette, Louisiana, and was open to the public. Masks were required for attendance.
"You slowly have brought our family together to support one another, express our true feelings and connect on a more intimate level," Eve Greenberg, Quawan's sister, said Saturday. "We will forever hold the memories of you and the memories we wish we could have had with you close to our hearts."
Celina Charles, a family spokesperson and cousin of Quawan, said that they are still "hurting" but on Saturday, "we will come together and finally be able to mourn."
Quawan, 15, went missing from his father's home in Baldwin, Louisiana, on Oct. 30. Police video shows the teen getting into a car with a friend and the friend's mother that day, officials said. On Nov. 3, Charles' body was found in a sugar cane field about 20 miles away. The local coroner's office ruled the likely cause of death as drowning.
His family is still seeking answers around the death, and have questioned why local authorities did not issue an Amber Alert for his disappearance.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" that aired Saturday, Quawan's mother, Roxanne Nelson, said she "cannot sleep at night."
"I'm constantly thinking about my son and trying to figure out exactly how he died," Nelson added. The mother described her son as a "good kid" and "loving child."
ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
