Lallie Marshall, the great-grandmother of Aquan Lewis, remembers him as “a sweet young man.”
She doesn’t believe her great-grandson hanged himself on his own.
“I don’t understand how he could have done it because of the way the bathroom was made,” Marshall said.
10-year-old Aquan was found last Tuesday hanging by his shirt collar on a hook in a school bathroom stall. He died early Wednesday morning. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death a suicide by hanging, but the Evanston Police Department investigation is ongoing – and Aquan’s family is not convinced that the medical examiner ruled correctly.
Geary Kull, a private attorney and neighbor of the Lewis family, said it’s too early to conclusively say what happened. But he added that if the investigation is ongoing, it’s for a reason.
Kull recalls that Aquan’s mother, Angel Marshall, said her son was happy Tuesday morning and excited about playing basketball after school. Angel Marshall was unavailable for comment.
Tracey Wallace, a coach for Aquan’s Evanston Jr. Wildkits football team, met the student in August 2008.
He said Aquan was “a typical fifth-grader” and a “receptive, good kid.”
When it came to football, he was enthusiastic about being part of the team.
“At that level, kids can play multiple positions, and there wasn’t a time when he didn’t want to play anywhere he could,” Wallace said.
Although the coach said he is not in a position to directly comment on Aquan’s death, he finds it hard to imagine that a 10-year-old would intentionally hang himself.
“The struggle is not really knowing what happened on that day, ” Wallace said.
Seth Himrod, director of operations for the Jr. Wildkits football program, remembers Aquan as a high-spirited boy with a slight competitive streak.
The program requires players to maintain an academic standard if they want playing time, Himrod said.
He recalled a week when Aquan and his 12-year-old brother, Adam, turned in grade sheets. Adam’s grades were better than his younger brother’s.
After that, “(Aquan) gave me a look with a twinkle in his eye and said, ‘I’ll get you back,'” Himrod said. “And then he brought back the best grade sheet ever. It was excellent all the way across the board.”
Himrod said he was always proud of Aquan’s achievements.
“The most devastating part for me is that I won’t get to see the man he was becoming,” Himrod said.
Aside from football, Aquan enjoyed playing basketball and participated in the Evanston Y.O.U. youth program, said Marshall, the boy’s great-grandmother. She helped raise Aquan, Adam and five-year-old sister Aresheana.
“He was with me all the time after school,” she said.
School officials also said they are reluctant to comment about Aquan or the incident.
All questions were referred to Pat Markham, head of communications at School District 65, which includes Oakton. The district “has no additional comment right now,” Markham said, other than a statement released last Wednesday.
“This is a tragic loss for the child’s family, the school and our district,” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to the family and to the teachers and staff.”
Police have continued their investigation despite the medical examiner’s rulings, Markham said.
Kull said the death was devastating, regardless of how it happened.
“Whatever the case may be, the issue is that it should never have happened in the school,” Kull said. “You send your kids to school and expect them to come home.”
A funeral at Evanston’s First Church of God Christian Life Center, 1524 Simpson St., is planned for Wednesday.
Brian Rosenthal contributed reporting.
