Attorney for family of slain LSU student Madison Brooks sets 'the record straight'
Kerry Miller, the lawyer representing Madison Brooks' family in the wake of her untimely death, sets 'the record straight' in interview with Fox News Digital.
One of the suspects accused of raping Louisiana State University sophomore Madison Brooks was charged with a third sexual assault that allegedly followed a nearly identical pattern to the night Brooks died.
Brooks, 19, drank at LSU hotspot Reggie's bar in East Baton Rouge's Tigerland area before she was allegedly raped by two teenagers in a car, while two other men were present, early on Jan. 15. They then dropped her off along a busy highway near her home, where she was fatally struck by a car.
Since then, one of the suspects, 18-year-old Kaivon Washington, was arrested two more times and charged with two previous rapes.
One allegedly occurred in Livingston Parish in 2020, when he was 16 and the victim was 12, and the more recent one reportedly took place in the same area of East Baton Rouge in October 2022 after the victim and her alleged attackers met outside Reggie's.
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Madison Brooks is remembered as a beloved adventure-seeker in her obituary. Brooks, 19, died Jan. 15, 2023. (The Brooks family)
Like Brooks, the victim in the October 2022 incident drank at the same LSU watering hole and met Washington and another man, who was referred to in court documents as her "acquaintance," 18-year-old Karson Jones.
The October victim, whose age was not identified in court records, was too drunk to drive, so Jones and Washington allegedly drove her from the bar to Jones' home, where both men allegedly sexually assaulted her and force-fed her alcohol when she asked for water, according to the arrest warrant obtained by Fox News Digital.
Kerry Miller, the Louisiana attorney representing Brooks’ mother, Ashley Baustert, told Fox News Digital during a phone interview on Wednesday that the accusations "accumulate and paint a disturbing picture."
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General view of Tigerland in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Jan. 24, 2023. Reggie's Bar, located in Tigerland, is reportedly one of the last places where LSU student Madison Brooks was seen before her death on Jan. 15. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
"There are a lot of similarities that suggest a MO," Miller said. "It was the same bar, more than one man was involved, the use of alcoholic beverages being used and being separated from friends. … It suggests he preys on vulnerable women."
The victim in the alleged October 2022 rape reported the crime on Jan. 25, which was one day after Washington and three other men were arrested in connection with Brooks' alleged rape.
Kaivon Washington, 18, was charged with first-degree rape in connection with a sexual assault that allegedly took place in 2020. (Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office)
Washington and a 17-year-old suspect, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, were charged with third-degree rape in Brooks' case.
Casen Carver, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, were charged with being principals to third-degree rape.
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Washington's lawyer Ron Haley said in a statement to the media after Washington's third arrest that there are "several concerns with the most recent charge."
"First, like the matter in Livingston, the ‘follow-up’ investigation took place on or about Jan. 25, 2023," said Haley, referring to the time when the victim reported the alleged rape to the police.
"Secondly, the date of incident on Mr. Washington’s warrant is different from his co-defendant. Third, in the warrant for his co-defendant it does not mention anything regarding intoxication. It states the victim was having consensual sex with his co-defendant in the presence of Mr. Washington."
General view of Reggie’s bar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Jan. 24, 2023. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
In the original warrant, the date of the alleged rape is listed as Aug. 1, 2022, but police have said it was an error and should be Oct. 1, 2022.
"Finally, the victim never accused Mr. Washington of having sexual intercourse with her, thus we are curious as to why he was charged with rape," Haley said.
The victim in the October 2022 incident was too drunk to drive home, and asked Jones if she could sleep at his place.
General views of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Janu. 25, 2023. Madison Brooks was attending LSU when she was hit and killed by a car on Jan. 15, 2023. (Kat Ramirez for Fox New Digital)
When they got inside, Jones threatened to kick her out if Washington couldn't watch them have sex, according to arrest warrant.
Sex was consensual at first, according to the warrant, but then Jones allegedly "pinned her down and became increasingly aggressive, at which time she repeatedly told him to stop, and he repeatedly ignored her."
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The victim said "no" and "stop" multiple times, according to the warrant, and then asked for a cup of water.
Washington allegedly brought her alcohol instead of water, which she said she didn't want.
A memorial on the 8800 block on Burbank Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Jan. 25, 2023. The memorial is in honor of Madison Brooks, who was fatally struck in this approximate location on Jan. 15, 2023. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
Jones allegedly "grabbed her face and held her mouth open as Washington poured the drink down their throat," the warrant says, and continued having sex with her while Washington allegedly watched and then joined in by groping her.
Afterward, Washington allegedly apologized to the victim in a text message and claimed Jones grabbed Washington's hands to grope her, according to the warrant.
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Jones and Washington were arrested and charged with first-degree rape.
Miller suspects the Livingston Parish case will be heard first.
From left: Kaivon Deondre Washington, Casen Carver and Everett Deonte Lee. The fourth suspect in Madison Brooks' alleged rape, a minor, has not been identified. (East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office)
While the case involving Brooks and the October 2022 victim will be separate, the two cases will have an impact on each other, as will the Livingston Parish case, Miller said.
He thinks the October 2022 case might proceed faster because that complainant is alive and will "carry about 80 percent" of the evidence, versus Brooks' case, where prosecutors have to piece together what happened without Brooks.
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"It's like prosecuting a murder with no body," Miller said.
Brooks was laid to rest Feb. 3 in her hometown of Covington, Louisiana.
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