DUSON, La. () — Sherri Richard said she knew her son took Xanax for his anxiety, a substance known to cause him to pass out. So, when she received a call one day that he had passed out, it wasn't too far a throw to think Xanax was the cause, she said, but it ended up being far worse.

Joshua Lee died on May 10 after taking cocaine laced with fentanyl.

"We thought he had just passed out on Xanax. He took too much as he had before because it wouldn't work that fast enough for him. Never did I dream he did cocaine with fentanyl in it," she said.

Richard said her son has been battling with things she thought were over.

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"Unfortunately, you never know. I have this wall for him. It's horrible and every day I look at his smile. I know that I have to do whatever I have to do to get justice for Josh. Just can't look at him and not sleep at night knowing that I didn't do the best I could," she said.

"I wish a million times that I would have just held him here, made him stay here all night, that I would have just tackled him and held him and told him how much I loved him," she said.

Richard said all she is left with is her son's memories. She believes the person who sold her son the drugs is a longtime friend of her son, a person he had known since he was 13 years old.

"If you knew you cut it with fentanyl why would you give that to him? But he did it because of that dollar. Meant more to him than the friendship and I will do anything to have him back. You know, anything," she said.

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She said she tried to address the alleged seller but was met with obscene language.

"Not. Hey, I'm sorry. Oh, my God. I didn't know. Not nothing. No compassion whatsoever and to me, that's what pissed me off most. How could you know somebody for that many years and just not care? I would care," she said.

"I keep waiting for him to walk in the door, you know, he used to sing to me and I will wait for him to do that. But it's not ever coming through and I don't want this to happen to any other mother, any other family. It's horrible, absolutely horrible," she continued.

She said she had a few friends who overdosed on fentanyl but it was never this close to home. She warns other parents.

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"If you suspect your children are doing something, please talk to them. Explain to them what horrible things come from this. There's nothing good that comes from fentanyl," she said.

"People have to let them know that this is fatal and there's no coming back once you're gone. There's no I've got to tell you this, or I forgot to say that; there's no coming back. None. It's forever," Richard continued.

Richard said she wants people to know how beautiful of a person her son was.

Lee's favorite color was blue and he loved pizza and smoked meat. He leaves behind three children, the oldest is 21 and the youngest is 12.

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"I know that my son is wrong for doing it. I know that I never, ever once didn't think that my son wasn't but I think that he was hurting and he just didn't want to hurt anymore. I don't think that he did it on purpose at all but he's to blame too. Both parties have to be accountable," Richard said.

"Josh has already paid his part. He's already paid for his mistake and unfortunately, the rest of us are, too," she said.

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office said the case has been closed.

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