'He was my protector': Family of teen found dead in tow lot demands answers from police
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The family of the 17-year-old found dead in a car in a Milwaukee tow lot is demanding answers.
"He was my number one protector," James Stokes' sister, Danielle Carey, said.
The family of 17-year-old Stokes is dealing with the death of someone they say always had their back.
"James, he protected me. He was my protector. When my house was getting shot up, he put his body over me so I wouldn't get hurt," Stokes' mother, Kina King, said. "He would've lived if they had just searched and looked back there. He probably was moaning."
Stokes was found dead in the back of a stolen Kia at a city tow lot four days after a car crash on 91st and W. Fond Du Lac. His family tells CBS 58 they posted missing person flyers and contacted the police for help in the search for the teen.
"My instant thing is to go look for him, to see where they are at, what's going on," Stokes' older sister, Jamie Stokes, said.
Jamie Stokes said her family feels betrayed. She tells us multiple people told investigators her little brother was in the car when it rammed into a tree last Thursday, even the family of the 16-year-old boy police allege was driving the stolen car.
"His mom called the police the department. She said James was her nephew, and he was stuck in the car. They didn't believe her. They ignored her," King said.
The 16-year-old, Dwayne Hudson, spoke with CBS 58 on Tuesday. He said despite claims he was the driver of the car, someone else was behind the wheel. He also said he told police he and Stokes were not alone in the vehicle.
"I let them know that it wasn't just two of us, it was three of us," Hudson said. "I was not the driver. I'm going to keep saying that. I was not the driver."
Stokes' family said they are standing behind Hudson's claims he was not driving the car when it crashed. CBS 58 obtained surveillance video showing the car speeding down the road and crashing into the tree on June 1.
Milwaukee police confirm an international investigation is ongoing, and the Department of Public Works is also reviewing the incident to unearth how Stokes' body was overlooked, but they declined to comment further.
"Y'all said they stole the car, so why y'all didn't look for weapons, drugs, stuff like that?" Jamie Stokes said.
James Stokes' cause of death is still being investigated. The family is planning a rally outside the Milwaukee Courthouse on Wednesday morning.