According to police, four male suspects have been arrested in the rape of a Louisiana State University sorority member, who was later dumped on the side of the road and fatally struck by a car after a night of drinking.
Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, turned themselves in Monday, more than a week after Madison Brooks, 19, was killed in Baton Rouge, according to the Advocate.
According to the outlet, a fourth suspect, a 17-year-old boy who has not been identified because he is a minor, turned himself in on Sunday.
Brooks was drinking at Reggie’s, a bar near the LSU campus, where she met the 17-year-old suspect on Jan. 15, according to the newspaper.
According to the arrest warrant, she left between 1 and 2 a.m. with the teen and the three other suspects.
Brooks “was very unstable on her feet, was unable to keep her balance, and was unable to speak clearly without slurring her words,” Carver admitted to police, according to the document.
Carver told police he saw Brooks and the 17-year-old boy “hugging and walking together,” and that she asked for a ride home.
“He admitted that he agreed to give her a ride because he didn’t want to leave her while she was very intoxicated and the bar was closing up,” according to the arrest warrant.
Carver told authorities that he was in the driver’s seat, Lee was in the front passenger seat, and Washington, the 17-year-old, and Brooks were in the back.
He claimed he asked Brooks for her address, but she “fell over and was unable to respond.” According to the warrant, “he drove a short distance and pulled over.”
Carver “stated he overheard his 17-year-old juvenile friend asking the victim five times if she wanted to have sex with him,” and Brooks “gave verbal consent,” according to the document.
He claimed the 17-year-old and Washington had sex with Brooks before he told them, “We’ve got to stop this, let’s go,” according to the document.
During the police interview, Carver responded, “I guess,” when asked if he thought the woman was too impaired to consent to sex.
Police also interviewed Washington, who said he was saddened by Brooks’ death but also admitted to laughing earlier as he walked behind her, thinking, “How y’all meet a random girl and just bring her home?”
He said they later dropped Brooks off at a nearby subdivision, where she was hit by a rideshare driver around 3 a.m. on Burbank Drive near Pelican Lakes Parkway.
According to investigators, she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.319% — nearly four times the legal limit.
Washington and an unidentified 17-year-old were charged with third-degree rape, while Lee and Carver were charged with principle to third-degree rape.
According to Louisiana law, a third-degree rape charge generally involves a victim who is “incapable of resisting or of understanding the nature of the act by reason of a stupor or abnormal condition of mind produced by an intoxicating agent or any cause and the offender knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity,” KSLA. reported.
Ron Haley, an attorney for two of the suspects, told WAFB that this was “absolutely not a rape. Listen, this is a tragedy, definitely not a crime.”
He told the outlet that a video taken during the incident shows Brooks was coherent.
“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 told WAFB.
The attorney claimed Brooks and Carver got into an argument in his car.
“Based on a disagreement, she got out of the vehicle. She indicated she was getting an Uber. 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,” he said.
Brooks, a Covington, Louisiana native, was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, according to KSLA.
“Madi was a cheerful, loving, and selfless friend. She left an indelible imprint on our chapter; we cherish our shared memories and will never forget her. “Our forever friend, Madi, was also a hero, donating her heart and kidneys to save others,” the sorority wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. And we respectfully request time and space to support each other in our healing process,” it continued.
“Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a friend to many of you,” LSU president William Tate said in a statement. By all accounts, she was a wonderful young woman with boundless potential. She should not have been taken away in this manner. What happened to her was heinous, and our legal system will punish her.
“Our collective grief and outrage cannot be expressed in words. So, what are our options? It is time to take action. “One place to focus our attention is where this encounter began,” Tate wrote.
source:nsemwokrom.com
