LSU student was raped before she died when hit by car, police say - The Washington Post

All 4 suspects turned themselves successful connected Sunday and Monday. Attorneys for the suspects reason that their clients did not rape Brooks but alternatively had consensual sex. According to Louisiana law, third-degree rape usually involves a unfortunate who is “incapable of resisting oregon of knowing the quality of the enactment by crushed of a stupor oregon abnormal information of caput produced by an intoxicating cause oregon immoderate origin and the offender knew oregon should person known of the victim’s incapacity.”

In the early-morning hours of Jan. 15, Brooks, a sophomore from Madisonville, La., was drinking astatine a barroom successful Tigerland, a fashionable amusement territory successful Baton Rouge adjacent the LSU campus, erstwhile she near with the 17-year-old and the 3 different suspects, records show. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said surveillance video showed Brooks hanging retired with the suspects astatine the barroom and dancing with the teenager.

When Brooks asked for a thrust location from Reggie’s Bar, Carver, who told investigators that helium oregon the radical did not cognize Brooks earlier that night, said the assemblage pupil was “very unstable connected her feet,” incapable “to support her balance” and “unable to talk intelligibly without slurring her words.” Washington besides told authorities that Brooks was inebriated, saying, “She was drunk.” Deputies aboriginal said they were told Brooks asked for a thrust location due to the fact that she was excessively drunk and could not find her friends.

Not agelong aft the radical near the bar, the car pulled over. Washington and the teen raped Brooks, portion Carver and Lee looked connected successful the vehicle, according to authorities. When asked by constabulary whether helium believed Brooks was excessively drunk to consent to sex, Carver said, “I guess,” records show. Carver aboriginal told authorities that Brooks “gave verbal consent,” and claimed to constabulary that Brooks consented aft Washington asked aggregate times for enactment successful the backmost seat. Washington denied having enactment with Brooks, according to charging documents.

Carver, who was successful the beforehand spot with Lee astatine the time, yet told the group, “We got to halt this, let’s go,” records show. The radical dropped disconnected Brooks successful a subdivision and drove off, Carver said, according to investigators.

It was astir 3 a.m., astir an hr aft she had been dropped off, erstwhile Brooks was struck by a ride-share vehicle, authorities say. She was pronounced dormant astatine a hospital. The ride-share driver, who called exigency personnel, was not charged, authorities said.

An autopsy study recovered that Brooks had a humor intoxicant level of 0.319, which is astir 4 times the ineligible bounds for drivers. The autopsy, which recovered she tested affirmative for THC, besides noted that Brooks had “injuries accordant with erstwhile intersexual assault.”

If convicted of the third-degree rape charge, Washington and the 17-year-old could look up to 25 years successful prison, according to state law.

Ron Haley, an lawyer for Washington and Lee, did not instantly respond to a petition for remark aboriginal Wednesday. Haley told WAFB in Baton Rouge that Brooks was not raped, arguing that the acts were consensual. He added that video of the brushwood showed Brooks was successful a coherent authorities astatine the time.

“She willfully got into the car, said that her rides had near her, and she got in,” Haley told the TV station. “After that constituent successful time, determination were consensual intersexual acts done successful that car with her and 2 different individuals astatine 2 abstracted times.” He added, “Can you archer that she was intoxicated, yes. To the constituent nether the instrumentality that you accidental you’re successful a drunken stupor, to the constituent that you cannot lawfully springiness consent oregon reply questions, perfectly that was not the case.”

Joe Long, an lawyer for Carver, echoed Haley, telling the Advocate that Brooks’s lawsuit was a “tragedy but not a crime.”

“When each the grounds is known, everyone volition spot this was not a crime,” Long said.

Long declined to remark to The Post, but pointed to a New York Post communicative stating however Brooks occasionally worked astatine Reggie’s. The lawyer besides shared a photograph with The Post that Brooks posted to her societal media of her and 2 friends with a caption reading, “3 small Reggie’s workers.” It’s unclear whether Brooks ever worked astatine the bar.

Following Brooks’s death, the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced that Reggie’s Bar was fixed an exigency suspension.

“This enactment instantly suspends the work oregon merchantability of alcoholic beverages astatine this location,” the bureau said successful a statement, according to WDSU in New Orleans. The bureau said it is moving with instrumentality enforcement to analyse the lawsuit and different caller incidents astatine the bar, and volition clasp an exigency league adjacent period to find whether Reggie’s should look immoderate penalties. A connection near astatine Reggie’s was not instantly returned.

Records connected Wednesday greeting amusement Carver and Lee were released from prison. Both indispensable deterioration ankle monitors and stay nether location arrest, WBRZ reported. Washington and the 17-year-old remained successful jailhouse arsenic of Wednesday, records show. Washington is being held connected a $150,000 bond, portion the teen is being held successful a juvenile jailhouse pending a tribunal hearing.

The quality of Brooks’s decease has rocked the LSU community, which has suffered different calamity successful caller years. In 2017, LSU pupil Max Gruver, 18, died of intoxicant poisoning aft helium was forced to portion arsenic portion of fraternity hazing. In 2019, Matthew Naquin, past a 21-year-old erstwhile LSU student, was convicted of negligent homicide for his relation successful Gruver’s death. In September, Allison Rice, a 21-year-old senior, was fatally changeable successful her car successful what authorities judge was a random attack.

Brooks, who studied astatine LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, was described by her Alpha Phi sorority sisters arsenic “a bubbly, loving, and selfless friend.”

“She was besides a leader and was capable to donate her bosom and kidneys to prevention others,” the sorority wrote connected Instagram. “We nonstop our deepest sympathies to her household and friends during this incredibly hard time.”

In a Monday statement, LSU president William Tate IV remembered Brooks arsenic “a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a person to galore of you.” Tate said the assemblage would conscionable with the owners of section bars and “any constitution that profits disconnected our students by providing intoxicant to underage individuals” to spot what tin beryllium done to amended information astir LSU.

“By each accounts, she was an astonishing young pistillate with limitless potential. She should not person been taken from america successful this way,” Tate said. “What happened to her was evil, and our ineligible strategy volition parcel retired justice.”