February 5, 2009
Relatives of the 10-year-old boy found hanging in an Evanston school would like an independent autopsy as they continue to question that Aquan Lewis killed himself.
The family's attorney, Todd Smith, said they are considering arranging for a second autopsy. Smith said this afternoon "it was startling" that the Cook County medical examiner's office "had so quickly" ruled the boy's death a suicide.
Scolded by a teacher, Aquan responded with a threat to kill himself the same day his body was discovered, said sources familiar with the investigation.
The 5th-grader hanged himself Tuesday afternoon by his shirt collar on a hook in an Oakton Elementary School restroom stall where a footprint was found on a toilet, a source said.
The boy's mother, Angel Marshall, said she remains shocked and confused about what exactly happened to Aquan, the second of her three children. She rejects the idea of suicide and said she believes foul play may have been involved.
Marshall spoke in a hushed voice between tears and sobs at Smith's office in downtown Chicago this afternoon.
Marshall said she kissed her son goodbye when he left for school Tuesday and he was excited about playing a basketball game.
"What happened in that school that would cause this?" she asked. "My son is the type of kid that he ain't never, never wanted to be at no better place than to be at his games."
She said her son was popular in school. "My son has helped protect kids at that school," she added. "I couldn't see him going to school to harm himself."
--Susan Kuczka, Ofelia Casillas
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