Law enforcement unveiled charges last week against four suspects accused of playing a role in the alleged rape of 19-year-old Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks that preceded her death.
Brooks was struck by a car on Jan. 15 and later succumbed to her injuries. The three adult suspects accused of playing a role in the alleged rape — Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, the 28-year-old uncle of Washington — have all been released on bail. An unidentified 17-year-old has also been charged.
Brooks had been in a vehicle with the four men after a night of drinking at a bar, then left after the alleged rape occurred before being hit by an oncoming car. The driver of the car has not been charged.
“What happened to her was evil, and our legal system will parcel out justice. Our collective grief and outrage cannot be put into mere words,” LSU President William Tate IV said in a statement about Brooks’s death and alleged rape. “So what can we do? It is time for action. One place to target our attention is the very place where this encounter began.”
Here is a breakdown of how the tragedy surrounding Brooks unfolded.
TYRE NICHOLS BEATING: TIMELINE OF INVESTIGATION INTO POLICE KILLING OF MEMPHIS MAN
Jan. 14
Brooks is believed to have entered Reggie’s bar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, around 10 p.m. local time, according to a video from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. Despite being underage, she was served alcohol and met the four men involved in the alleged rape at the bar, according to police.
Jan. 15
Brooks stumbled from apparent intoxication around 1 a.m. local time and later “got back on her feet with the help of three individuals,” said the affidavit from EBRSO, according to Fox News. Sometime around then, she is believed to have posed for a photo that was later posted on her Instagram account.
Then, around 1:34 a.m. local time, she fell near the entrance of Reggie’s bar and was approached by the 17-year-old suspect, per the affidavit. She later grabbed his hand and got up on her feet. At around 1:49 a.m., she left the bar with the four suspects. By 1:54 a.m., the group was seen entering a car.
In an interview with police, Carver recounts that he and the three other suspects went to the bar for drinks, where he claims to have met Brooks for the first time, per the affidavit. He claims that she “was unable to speak clearly without slurring her words” and “asked for a ride home,” which he admitted to giving her, the affidavit said.
Carver claims to have asked for her address, “but she fell over and could not answer him.” Eventually, the group drove for a brief period of time and parked the car at a “nearby street.” At one point, he overheard the 17-year-old suspect ask if “she wanted to have sex with him” and alleged she “gave verbal consent,” the affidavit stated.
Ron Haley, a lawyer for Washington and Lee, said there is video to corroborate claims that Brooks consented to sex. However, when Carver was pressed about whether Brooks was too drunk to consent, he allegedly responded, “I guess.” A subsequent examination later pegged her blood alcohol level at 0.319%, which is nearly four times the 0.08% limit in Louisiana.
Soon thereafter, the 17-year-old suspect and Washington allegedly took turns raping Brooks while both Carver and Lee were in the vehicle, Carver alleged. He later claimed to have “felt uncomfortable” and “hated” what they were doing.
At 2:50 a.m. EBRSO’s traffic division got a call about a deadly accident. Brooks was hit by a car on Burbank Drive and quickly brought to a hospital but ultimately died from her injuries. Haley later claimed that Brooks planned to get an Uber and departed the vehicle after an “argument.”
The driver, who is not facing criminal charges, “was not impaired and contacted emergency personnel immediately,” EBRSO later said.
Brooks’s kidneys and heart were donated after her death, her sorority, Alpha Phi, later confirmed.
Jan. 18
A postmortem concluded that Brooks’s injuries were “consistent with previous sexual assault” and found that she tested positive for THC, Fox News reported. The examination was conducted by the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.
Jan. 23
All four suspects were apprehended by EBRSO, and police announced various charges over the alleged rape. Carver and Lee would face charges of principle to rape. Meanwhile, Washington and the 17-year-old were hit with third-degree rape charges. Under Louisiana law, rape is defined as when a victim is “incapable of resisting or of understanding the nature of the act.”
Haley has defended his clients, insisting that Brooks was not intoxicated at a level that would have inhibited consent.
“Absolutely not a rape. … Listen, this is a tragedy, definitely not a crime,” Haley said about the charges against his clients, per Fox News. “To the point under the law that you say you’re in a drunken stupor, to the point that you cannot lawfully give consent or answer questions? Absolutely that was not the case.”
Jan. 24
The three adult suspects had their bond hearings on Jan. 24. Judge Brad Myers, who presided over the proceeding, revealed that he saw the footage that Haley cited as proof that Brooks consented. Myers explained that the video showcased the suspects laughing “callously” at her as she appeared intoxicated but did not show the alleged rape, WAFB-TV reported.
Based on the footage and other evidence presented, Myers reportedly said he believes a crime transpired. Carver and Lee were held on 50,000 and $75,000 bail, respectively. They posted bail on Jan. 24. Washington was ordered held on $150,000 bond and was released the following day.
Jan. 30
Kerry Miller, a lawyer for Brooks’s mother, issued a fierce rebuke of assertions suggesting that the 19-year-old was not a victim of rape.
“She was raped. Rape is rape,” Miller told Fox News. “It’s just a horrific, terrible situation. And to the extent that those involved with the alleged rapist want to blame the victim and show up at press conferences and say things … we’re standing up for Maddie. That’s not right.”
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Due to the terms of the bond, the suspects are not allowed to post about the case on social media or correspond with Brooks’s family. They must also don ankle monitors and are subject to house arrest.
Since news of Brooks’s rape and death broke, subsequent reports emerged about prior violent outbreaks at Reggie’s bar. Additionally, it was later revealed that Brooks previously worked there as a “door girl” but was later terminated over the summer.
A funeral for Brooks is set to take place on Feb. 3 in Covington, Louisiana.
