Prior to her untimely demise, Ashley Baustert disclosed the final message she had received from her adolescent child, the parent of the LSU student who passed away in January following an alleged sexual assault.
‘I will meet with you again on the following day.’ Baustert mentioned that Madison, Brooks’ daughter, sent her a text message on the late evening of January 14, which was a Saturday night, as reported by Fox News Digital.
At LSU, during the beginning of her second semester, Brooks was settling into her dorm room to complete her introduction the following morning. The pair were making arrangements.
At 11.38pm, Brooks, who was at Reggie’s Bar, sent a text back to his mother with a picture of him and his sister’s sorority mother, saying “I love you!!!”
In the middle of a busy parkway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Brooks lay dying after being hit by a car, as rain poured onto the pavement for about three and a half hours later.
First emergency personnel quickly transported the adolescent to a nearby medical facility, but unfortunately, her life could not be preserved.
Initially, investigators believed that the 19-year-old died in a tragic accident, but I immediately suspected foul play when I said, “But her mother is not a criminal involved in the car.”
Baustert expressed, ‘Considering the time and her solitude, along with her whereabouts and the details of how she got injured, I am aware that something dreadful occurred. I am aware that something was amiss.’
As per the authorities, the motorist who collided with Brooks stayed at the location alongside the girl who was in critical condition and promptly dialed 911. Prior to the arrival of medical staff, two compassionate individuals stopped their vehicles and made an effort to assist in rescuing Brooks.
Baustert, a hospital located approximately 90 minutes away in Louisiana, was fully occupied. Upon receiving the news, Brooks’ father hastily traveled from Florida while other family members also hurried to the nearby hospital.
The teenager’s parents arrived in time to bid farewell to her “while she was still alive,” as stated by her mother.
Baustert mentioned, ‘We found out that she’s not going to make it a priority to spend her last few moments with us, it was only her first and foremost.’
Baustert’s mother, Brooks’ grandmother, mentioned that her main concern after arriving at the hospital was to prevent her daughter from breaking down.
I was concerned about Mandy LeBlanc, the mother who takes care of Bauster’s stable. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. The police were outside the door. We were going there when we were at the hospital.
LeBlanc and her son, Baustert’s sibling, eventually arrived at Reggie’s Bar after the unfortunate event, where they intended to collect Brooks’ mobile phone that she had inadvertently forgotten.
Baustert mentioned that her daughter’s phone being forgotten was a significant warning sign and indication that something negative had occurred.
Baustert expressed, ‘Nobody would ever do such a thing.’ Baustert stated, ‘We were astonished that Madi would place herself in that neighborhood on the parkway at three in the morning without her phone.’
Bar Reggie’s was located in Tigerland, a hot part of town that has become a crime-infested section of Baton Rouge, which is home to LSU students.
Once Brooks’ phone was recovered, her mother’s doubts were validated and the case transformed into a criminal inquiry.
According to the police, the young woman, who allegedly encountered four men at the bar, was fatally injured in a car accident at 3am, which occurred at some point between Brooks’ 11.38pm message to her mother.
Desmond Carter, 17, Casen Carver, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and Kaivon Washington, 18, were all arrested in connection with the alleged rape.
After the alleged attack, some men pushed Brooks out of the car onto the side of Burbank Highway, a busy four-lane parkway several miles from the bar where the complaints were made.
Struck by a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction, Brooks staggered into the road, where authorities suspect she had a blood alcohol concentration of .319 percent, which is almost four times the legal threshold for driving, at the moment of her demise.
Presently, Carter and Carver, who are currently 17 years old, will face trial for charges of first-degree and third-degree rape, as indicted by grand juries.
Lee and Washington are still waiting to be indicted on third-degree rape charges. Lee has been booked on third-degree rape charges, while Washington has been arrested in connection with third-degree rape charges as well, with two prior charges of third-degree rape.
Baustert suggests that every progressive action towards fairness – including the charging of two of the individuals with more severe accusations and the closure of Reggie’s Bar – should be appreciated as significant occasions.