The mother of a Louisiana college student has revealed the heartbreaking final text she received from her daughter before she was allegedly gang raped and died after being hit by a vehicle.
Ashley Baustert exchanged texts with her daughter, Madison Brooks, 19, late on January 14, 2023. Baustert said she texted Brooks, a cheerleader at Louisiana State University, saying: "I'll see you tomorrow." Brooks replied from Reggie's Bar in Baton Rouge at 11:38pm: "I love you with three exclamation points and sent me a picture of her and one of my sorority sister's sons."
Fatal Accident on Busy Parkway
About three and a half hours later, Brooks was struck by a vehicle and lay dying in the middle of a busy parkway in torrential rain. Emergency services rushed her to a local hospital, but she could not be saved.
Police initially believed Brooks died in a non-criminal road accident, but her mother said at the time: "I immediately knew that foul play was involved." Baustert told Fox News Digital: "I knew something was wrong. I knew something terrible happened. Based on the circumstances of how she was hit, where she was, the time and her being alone."
Family's Race to Hospital
The motorist who struck Brooks remained at the scene and immediately rang 911, police said. Two other Good Samaritans stopped and attempted life-saving measures before paramedics arrived.
Baustert rushed to the hospital from her home about an hour and a half away, while Brooks' father raced to the area from Florida. Her parents managed to reach their daughter in time to bid farewell "while she was still breathing," Baustert said.
"We found out that she's not going to make it, so my first and only priority was spending the last few moments that she had with her," Baustert said.
Investigation Escalates
Brooks' grandmother and Baustert's mother, Mandy LeBlanc, revealed her focus was on maintaining her daughter's stability amid the chaos. "Police were at the hospital when we got there. Cops were outside the door. I wasn't thinking about anything. I was concerned about keeping her stable," LeBlanc told the outlet.
LeBlanc and Baustert's brother journeyed to Reggie's Bar, a popular hangout for LSU students, to retrieve Brooks' mobile phone. It was at this point the family began to suspect there was more to the tale.
"We were like there's no way Madi put herself at 3 in the morning on the parkway in that neighbourhood without her phone," Baustert said. "Like, no one would do that." Upon recovering Brooks' phone, Baustert's mother's intuition was validated and the case swiftly escalated into a criminal investigation.
Charges and Trial
Three men have been charged with allegedly gang raping Brooks in the back seat of a car. Police believe the men subsequently abandoned Brooks near the parkway following the alleged assault.
Brooks, who was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .319%, almost four times the legal limit for driving, subsequently stumbled into the four-lane road where she was hit by a lorry.
Desmond Carter, Kaivon Washington, and Casen Carver face charges of allegedly attacking Brooks after an evening of drinking at the pub. All three men refute the rape allegations, insisting that their sexual encounter with Brooks in the car was consensual.
Carter's trial is set to begin on 17 August.
