Madison Brooks murder: Prosecutors seek first-degree rape charges against suspects
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: Prosecutors working on the Madison Brooks case will reportedly try to upgrade charges pressed against the four accused. The 19-year-old student died on January 15 after being hit by a vehicle on Burbank Drive near Pelican Lakes Parkway. It has been said that before the accident, she was allegedly raped by two men in a moving car while the other two witnessed it.
WAFB reported that Stuart Theriot, a felony prosecutor for the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, has revealed that prosecutors are likely to soon demand first-degree rape charges against the suspects — 18-year-old Kaivon Deondre Washington, Everette Lee, 28, Casen Carver, 18, and an unnamed teenager. Theriot also added that he aims to get a grand jury for the case.
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Currently, Washington and the minor, who were accused of raping Brooks, have been slapped with a third-degree rape charge respectively. The other two, who were in the front seat of the vehicle while the alleged sexual assault happened, have been pressed with principle to third-degree rape charges.
The bond hearing for the three adult men took place on Tuesday, January 24. As per Fox News, 19th Judicial District Judge Brad Myers set Washington’s bond at $150,000. The accused has also been reportedly ordered to be in home confinement and it’s mandatory for him to wear an ankle monitor. Washington’s uncle Lee’s bond is $75,000 and the bond amount for Carver is $50,000. These two men have also been asked to be at home and wear ankle monitors. The 17-year-old accused’s bond will be decided during a hearing next month.
Meanwhile, after Brooks’ death, LSU Panhellenic Council paid her tribute in a social media post, writing, “Join us as we come together as a community to honor the life of Alpha Phi sister, Madison Brooks. We will be holding a candlelight vigil tomorrow, January 22nd, at 5:30 pm on the paved space on the LSU Lakes (across from the Lod Cook Convention Center). As a community, we send our love, support, and prayers to everyone who knew and loved Madison during these times🤍.”
LSU also released a statement, which said, “Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a friend to many of you. By all accounts, she was an amazing young woman with limitless potential. She should not have been taken from us in this way. 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.”
The statement concluded, “So what can we do? It is time for action. One place to target our attention is the very place where this encounter began. All but one of the suspects involved in this horrific scenario were underage yet were able to consume alcohol at a local bar. As such, our action plan starts with a deep and relentless focus on any establishment that profits off our students by providing alcohol to underage individuals. In the coming days, we will call a meeting with these business owners to discuss how their responsibilities directly impact the safety of our students. We will work openly against any business that doesn’t join us in efforts toward creating a safer environment for our students. Enough is enough.”