Deputies reported that four men were taken into custody in connection with the rape of LSU student Madison Brooks, which took place before she was killed by a car.
According to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, Brooks was raped before she was died on January 15 when she was struck by a car.
A 17-year-old unidentified kid and Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, were both accused with third-degree rape. Everett Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were accused of being present but not taking part in the third-degree rape for which they were charged.
Carver reportedly acknowledged to authorities that he and the other men went to Reggie’s Bar nearby the LSU campus and drank beer there. According to the arrest report, Brooks was “extremely unstable on her feet, was unable to maintain her balance, and was unable to talk coherently without slurring her words” when they left the bar, the man claimed.
The 17-year-old and Brooks were allegedly “hugging and strolling together,” according to what Carver allegedly told detectives.
The warrant claims that he claimed Brooks begged for a ride home with them. He claimed that Brooks agreed to have sex with Washington and the 17-year-old when they requested for it.
The warrant states that Carver told detectives he “hated” sex and thought Brooks was too inebriated to realise that she was agreeing to it. He claimed that they later left Brooks in a neighbourhood close to Burbank Drive, where she was struck and killed by a car.
On January 15 at around 3 a.m., Brooks was struck by a car while she was standing in the pitch-black. Later, a hospital declared her dead.
According to deputies, the driver of the car that struck her did not exhibit any signs of intoxication.
However, the attorney representing two of the people charged for the alleged incident claims a video shows no rape occurred.
“She willfully got into the car, said that her rides had left her, and she got in,” attorney Ron Haley told FOX 8. “Absolutely not a rape. Listen, this is a tragedy, definitely not a crime.”
From left to right, Everett Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were charged with principle to third-degree rape. (East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators said Brooks had a blood-alcohol level of .319g percent, nearly four times the legal limit. However, Haley said she was not too intoxicated to where she could not give consent.
“Can you tell that she was intoxicated? Yes. 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,” Haley said.
The attorney claims Brooks and the driver were involved in an argument after they drove to several places.
“Based on a disagreement, she got out of the vehicle. She indicated she was getting an Uber,” Haley said. “I want the public to know, these young men or really the driver of the vehicle and the young men that were in there, did not put her off on the side of the road.”
The driver allegedly thought the girl was too inebriated to consent, according to arrest paperwork.
Haley is confident that the video evidence from inside the car will show that his clients are not guilty and that the incident was caused by bars serving alcohol to young patrons. Haley plans to give the video to the district attorney’s office and the investigators.
Brooks was a sophomore at LSU, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.
“We are grieving the sudden and tragic loss of our sister, Madison Brooks, following the accident that took her life,” the sorority wrote on Instagram. “Madison was a sophomore and made a lasting impact on all of us. She was also a hero and was able to donate her heart and kidneys to save others. We send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. We respectfully ask for time and space so we may support each other in our healing process.”
LSU president William F. Tate IV said the university’s “collective grief and outrage cannot be put into mere words.”
“Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a friend to many of you,” he wrote in a statement. “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.”
