Overview
- Madison Brooks died in January 2023 after she stumbled into a busy road and was struck by a vehicle; the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office ruled her death was caused by multiple traumatic injuries.
- Prosecutors charged Desmond Carter, Kaivon Washington and Casen Carver with raping Brooks in a car; all three deny the allegations and say the encounter was consensual.
- Investigators say video shows Brooks leaving the vehicle and stumbling into traffic and that her blood-alcohol content measured 0.319% when she walked into the road.
- Carter’s defense has filed a motion to bar supporters from wearing pink at trial, citing Supreme Court fair-trial precedents, and prosecutors have urged the judge to deny the request and treat the clothing as passive victim support.
- Pretrial fights over evidence and procedure have already seen at least one defense filing rejected as irrelevant and raised broader questions about courtroom decorum, victim advocacy and how those issues could shape jury instructions and publicity for the upcoming trials.