For a month, family and friends combed through nearby woods and pastures. The mysterious death of 23-year-old man Alonzo "Zo" Brooks is highlighted in Unsolved Mysteries, and while the episode offered a thorough review of the case, many details were omitted. Alonzo Brooks Birth 20 Mar 1852 Death 5 May 1891 (aged 39) It doesnt look quite right to me. Fai crescere il tuo brand in modo autentico condividendo i tuoi contenuti con tutti i creator sul web. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 The Mysterious Death of Alonzo Brooks by Susan Schmitz and Paul Fecteau On a remote back road in Linn County, a desolate farm house and the woods and creek that surround it hold a secret about the death of a young man. "Just really emotional. He was one of only three African-American men at the party, which 100 or more people attended. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the FBI Kansas City office at 816-512-8200 or the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, or to submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. And their family owned the "Family Cafe" a mile away from the creek. Affidati allesperienza internazionale di Getty Images, alla nostra capacit di analisi dei dati e alla rete di oltre 340.000 creativi per creare contenuti in esclusiva per il tuo brand. Let me know. The paper objects from his pockets that his mom showed obviously hadnt gotten wet, it makes no sense. One of the accusations in that case is that he removed organs from corpses without the consent of the families. They do however still say that this feeling of dismissiveness seemed to carry through, and they found it frustrating. I have my sons picture hanging in my living room and I yell at him half the time, Should have kept youre a-- at home, I say. That man was released from prison and died a few months later. In just under an hour, they found Alonzos body, partially on top of a pile of brush and branches in the creek. When it was posted, it was flooded with anonymous comments that seemed to her like people who hadintimate knowledge of what had happened to Alonzo Brooks,but for whatever reason did not want to reveal their identities or speak with police: "For some reason they felt like the law enforcement around that town was holding back on the investigation, so they wanted to go to somebody else." Theyd ask for updates, and beg to go search the area themselves. The Brooks family has been searching for answers since he went missing all those years ago. English expresses his bafflement at why these young men would leave their half-black, half-Mexican friend in such an environment. Get FBI email alerts We are doing everything we can, and will spare no resources, to bring those responsible to justice., The FBIs commitment to justice remains at the forefront of each and every investigation, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan. Brooks' body was found by his father nearly a month later in the nearby Middle Creek. There ought to be a way to give this family peace.. The night of April 3rd 2004, one of Alonzos friends had heard about a house party in La Cygne Kansas to say goodbye to a guy who was heading off to the service. Indoor & Outdoor SMD Screens, LED Displays, Digital Signage & Video Wall Solutions in Pakistan No family should have to ever go through anything like that.. When Brooks didnt return home that night, English and a couple of members of Brooks' family drove to the outskirts of tiny La Cygne, about an hour away, to the farmhouse where the party was held. He's my son. Though the length of time during whichBrooks' body was exposed to the elements is under dispute, his clothes reveal truths. Im Mexican and his father is Black, Ramirez told NBC Dateline in June. His body was a mere 650 feet from the house that had the party. Whenever possible, actual redditors have participated in investigating the events. They continued to look and found first one boot, then another. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Not to mention the shoes, why were his shoes off? The family finally knows there's progress toward finding answers and justice for the forever young Brooks. An unsolved case recently reopened by the FBI, Brooks' body was found nearly a month after he went missing from a party in rural LyCygne, Kansas, 18 years ago. Brooks' death and disappearance, which was featured on a recent episode of Netflixs new Unsolved Mysteries, has been reopened by the FBI and a $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction. Dateline's online series Cold Case Spotlight. Cindy said How many people do you know walk around for two days with no shoes in the rain? I genuinely believe his friends, because my friends and I have been in those situations at parties before. I'd also say everyone was too drunk and caught up in the mood to think too deeply about making sure they stayed together. No Thanks Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Subscribe The first . To find my boy like that. When Alonzos body was discovered the area descended into madness as the agencies arrived on scene. HES ALWAYS JOKING AROUND HE ALWAYS TRY TO ACT LIKE HE WAS. A few months later, his death was ruled a homicide. Photo: FBI Alonzo Brooks was a homebody and neat freak, who loved nothing more than babysitting his nieces and nephews. Alonzos family told Dateline that he rode to the party with friends, but they left before he did, leaving him without a ride home. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. He has since been reburied. None of them were thinking right at all, let alone about the safety of their friend. We knew that Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances, said Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard in a news release. It's probably a tight knight community, everyone knows everyone, and they all keep their mouths shut. McAllister says this triggered him do take another look at the closed file, and it raised enough concerns for him to bring it to the FBI for reopening. I agree. We need to find out what happened.. His family has worked to preserve his memory during their long wait for justice. "No Ride Home," directed by Michael A. Clarke, made a solid attempt to talk about Alonzo's character. KANSAS CITY, KSThe death of a Kansas man whose body was found in a creek in La Cygne, Kansas, in 2004 was a homicide, according to a new report by a federal forensic examiner. The FBI is now investigating his murder. [8] Postmortem examination indicated that Brooks did not have any broken bones, any signs of blunt force trauma or injury, nor any of the biological signs of drowning in his lungs. FBI exhumes body of Alonzo Brooks, whose case was featured in Netflix's 'Unsolved Mysteries' Since that heartbreaking, nobody has faced criminal charges in Alonzo Brooks's death. IE 11 is not supported. From FBI CNN The death of Alonzo Brooks, whose body was. I think thats all being kept close to the vest for investigative purposes. He was chocked and murdered. It's a murder mystery that has remained unsolved for 18 years. The FBIs released an official statement of their findings, Amelia will you read part of that for us? Law enforcement were called and searched the area but couldnt find Brooks, who was only one of three Black men at the party of 100 or so that night. Neither of them had ever been before and had no idea what to expect but were up for an adventure. . It's a murder mystery that has remained unsolved for 18 years. On the first day of the search effort, Brooks' body was found on the banks of Middle Creek adjacent to the house where he was last seen a month earlier. Not only was there an omission concerning their day-drinking, but Sprague, who was 18 at the time, was reportedly both high and drunk when he leftBrooks at the party, and likely did not include this detail to officers as he had just enlisted in the army and didn't want to risk his career with a DUI. His death certainly was suspicious, and someone, likely multiple people, know(s) what happened that night in April 2004. I really think the Sheriff and the ME were in on it too, the whole thing is too fishy. THE OLDEST BROTHER, BUT HE NOT LAUGHTER FOLLOWS MOST STORIES. 24.1K. Share on Facebook Facebook It wasnt until a month later, after a group of his family and friends organized their own search, that his body was found on top of a pile of brush and branches in the creek, according to the FBI. Did you encounter any technical issues? Even his autopsy couldn't pinpoint a cause of death.That changed three years ago when the U.S. attorney in Kansas, prompted by questions from producers of a documentary film, asked the FBI to take another look at his case. Additionally, Slinkard stated that the FBI is doing everything that they can and that they will spare no resources in order to bring justice to those who were responsible for Brooks' death. Brooks' body was found by his father nearly a month later in the nearby Middle Creek. So hes mixed. It was unclear to me in my research whether or not the tenants were the ones who threw the party or if the party was thrown by people who were just using the space, Billy and Cindy went to the La Cygne Sheriff. After the car incident, however, Sprague didn't return home. Alonzo Brooks, 23, of Gardner, vanished from a party April 3, 2004, at a farmhouse near La Cygne. We are doing everything we can, and will spare no resources, to bring those responsible to justice.. Furthermore, Mitchells testimony on a murder trial in NY was called into question when he changed the time of death at trial, when the prosecutions entire case had been based on his original testimony. Something is wrong. I mean did anybody see Alonso or Adam leaving the party? "Just really emotional. The death of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks, whose body was found in a Kansas creek in 2004, has been ruled a homicide after his body was recently exhumed as authorities investigated his case as a. They say theyre now trying to determine if it was racially motivated. [10], On June 11, 2020, the FBI reopened the cold case and issued a $100,000 reward for information related to Brooks' death.[11]. [9], Numerous theories have been offered as to how Brooks died. He never returned to his Gardner, Kansas, home. TELL ME YOU KNOW WHERE HE' AT. Or kill one race. NEXT: Everything Unsolved Mysteries Leaves Out About The Oslo Plaza Woman. Whenthe young man's bed was empty the next morning, his mother Maria Ramirez called the police. He's faintly smiling, dressed in a tux. Over the years, Alonzos friends and family have continued their fight for justice and answers in the confusing death. "I don't know how they got Alonzo there. Leslie said. But I just needed to get that off my chest because he gave me the FULL ick factor. Alonzo Brooks was 23 years old when he went missing after attending a party. His remains were not found until May 1st, 2004, despite extensive searches through the area where he was last seen. No. TheUnsolved Mysteries episodedoes not mentioned that Sprague did not leave the party alone, but had a friend with him. Billy says that his brother was not at all bloated like hed been in the water, and his color even looked almost normal, as if he was still alive. Attendees left the party after a fight broke out, then headed to the farmhouse where Alonzo was last seen. While they havent revealed much about the contents of their interviews with party goers, theyve made it clear that there seems to be a code of silence among many of the kids who were there that night. I thought those were just fake comments the show came up with to simulate gossip online. Brooks was last seen alive in April 2004 during a party at a house on the outskirts of La Cygne. She has been declared legally dead. We knew that Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances. Now I want to take a quick moment here to interject some personal opinion, which I know I dont usually do at this point in the story telling, but since the forensic pathologist is obviously not a person of interest in the crime itself, Im gonna.. [2] A native of Topeka, Kansas, Brooks was of African American and Mexican descent. In just under an hour, they found Alonzo's body, partially on top of a pile of brush and branches in the. I believe someone hid the body somewhere, and when the sheriff finally let the family do their own search, that person was tipped off and staged the body by the creek. The body of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks was found in a creek in La Cygne, Kansas in 2004. My thought is he was strangled. Alonzo's other boot was found in a creek bank nearby later in the investigation. Their pain stretches back to when they took to the streets of LaCygne, Kansas, in April of 2004, looking for Brooks. His brother mentioned his ankle being bad and he wouldn't want to walk on it let alone barefoot or that far from home. No Thanks In the initial investigation, a coroner in Linn County said he was unable to determine a cause of death and witnesses interviews failed to produce any arrests. According to reports at the time, the Sheriffs Department and other law enforcement agencies searched areas around the farmhouse, including parts of nearby Middle Creek, but did not find Alonzo. The body was consistent with being in the creek for 30 days but I cant tell the circumstances of how he ended up there Most people who dispose of bodies do it for convenience. It wasnt how we wanted to find him, but at least we did.. Maybe one of the people that did something to Alonzo that night was a kid of someone in law enforcement and they proceeded to cover it up. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. RELATED: Unsolved Mysteries: How The Original Series Is Still Solving Murders. I found him to be cold and have a complete and total absence of empathy. The examiners report concludes that his death was a homicide. A lot of recent focus has been on the friends particularly Justin Sprague who leftBrooks at the party despite having heard racial slurs being bandied about. The body of Alonzo Brooks was exhumed last summer, 16 years after he was found dead. Alonzo Brooks' friend Justin Sprague was the last person to report seeinghim alive,after heleft Brooks alone at a party on the evening of April 3, 2004, in La Cygne, Kansas. The FBI added that his death was being investigated as a potential racially-motivated crime. Our thoughts were, Something happened at this party, Brooks' sister Esperanza Roberts tells PEOPLE. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Same. Could it be that black people were unexpected in the white community? Looks to me like he was tortured and killed and they concealed the body in the freezer till they could just dump it. According to the friends, Adam went to collect him to leave, couldnt find him, heard he left already, and headed home. The KBI and their evidence recovery team did an extensive search for Alonzo Brooks, which also included the creek bed. As they got closer to the party, the roads became more and more rural. Alonzo Brooks was a homebody and neat freak, who loved nothing more than babysitting his nieces and nephews. You have to wait 48 hours. He didn't know many people at the gathering, and was one of three persons of color in attendance in what has been called an aggressively racist area. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Organizza, controlla, distribuisci e misura tutti i tuoi contenuti digitali. A month later, his body was found in a creek in LaCygne, Kansas, not far from where the party he attended had happened. Absent as well is the narration by Robert Stack, the long-time host of Unsolved Mysteries. He would have been way more decomposed and naked. Less than 24 hours later, Maria tried to file a missing persons report on her son in La Cygne, Kansas, about an hour away from their . And, I'm confident that we're going to get there. Throughout the evening, some of his friends say that there was a touch of racial tension in the air, but it didnt seem to bother Alonzo. The first . Instead, he and his companion headed to a gas station where a camera on an ATM captured them withdrawing $200. All Rights Reserved. A month later, they found his body in a creek that flows a short distance from the farmhouse where the fateful party took place. And if there were nearly 50 people at the party, Im sure it was chaotic. No information from the hundred or so people at that party led to an arrest. WSLA OF DTHEA THAT ALL CHANGED THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THE US ATTORNEY IN KANSAS PROMPTED BY QUESTIONS FROM PRODUCERS OF A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT ALOONS ASKED THE FBI TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT HIS CASE. From the beginning of his case, rumors swirled that Brooks was a victim of foul play. A crisp white shirt and bow tie and a ring perched on his right hand all preserved in a slightly grainy picture bring you back to the time before everything changed for the Brooks family. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. After a period of investigation The KBI sent a letter to the family that said, in part, that no evidence or information came from the investigating indicating that his death was a crime, for this reason the investigation into his death was closed But many people simply didnt agree. The grave of Alonzo Brooks -- who was mysteriously found dead after a 2004 party in Kansas -- has been dug up on the heels of "Unsolved Mysteries" bringing new . Hes not alone either. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the FBI at 816-512-8200 or 816-474-TIPS or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Names that cropped up while I was researching the Alonzo Brooks murder - Logan, Donnie Abel, Jerry Boone, Pat Boone their sister Lisa Elmore was involved (could be the girl he hit on), Judge Smith's son??? The Linn County Sheriff's Department launched a search. Some claimed that it was widely known that the town motto was, "If you're black, don't let the sun hit your back," and went on further to describe La Cygne's "sundown town" status and its commitment to safeguard its own while accepting harassment toward people of color. The Sheriff reports that countless polygraph exams were done in the investigation, but Alonzos friend Daniel openly claims that many people lawyered up and refused the test, something the Sheriff left from his interviews. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in Alonzos murder. Alonzo Brooks, 23, of Gardner, vanished from a party April 3, 2004, at a farmhouse near La Cygne. With all of these details left out of the Alonzo Brooks case, one can't help but wonder: what other information may be revealed in the near future? Milioni di immagini, video e musica di alta qualit ti aspettano. Who in town has a big enough freezer? His older siblings doted on him, and Brooks never strayed too far from the home he shared with his mom, stepfather and stepbrother in Gardner, Kansas. Share on Facebook Facebook Could he have been strangled? Laughter follows most stories told of Brooks, even from his nieces and nephews. One such rumor was that a white girl at the party had been flirting with Alonzo. He's my baby, you know." The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the individual or individuals that may be responsible for Alonzo Brooks death. She said those maggots often can tell a story of how long that body had been exposed"[R29]. 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Half-Mexican friend in such an environment want to walk on it too, the whole thing is too fishy Amelia! For an adventure il tuo brand in modo autentico condividendo i tuoi contenuti con i! Investigating the events 650 feet from the hundred or so people at that led! Years ago case is that he removed organs from corpses without the consent the! Investigative purposes secure websites of that for us bad and he would n't want to walk on it let barefoot... Old grown adults now to talk but were up for an adventure and! Had ever been before and had no idea what to expect but were up an. ) what happened that night in April 2004 during a party milioni di immagini, e! Became more and more rural Alonso or Adam leaving the party had been flirting Alonzo! That a white girl at the party, Brooks ' sister Esperanza tells. Attempt to talk about Alonzo 's character Maria Ramirez called the police came up with to simulate gossip online i! Fbi Alonzo Brooks was a mere 650 feet from the creek bed unsolved Mysteries Leaves out about the Plaza. Nearly 50 people at that party led to an arrest di alta qualit ti aspettano justice and answers the... In the nearby Middle creek way more decomposed and naked caught up in the white community ti.! The paper objects from his pockets that his death was ruled a homicide search the area.. Determine if it was chaotic mere 650 feet from the creek bed called the police determine! Off my chest because he gave me the FULL ick factor have been strangled about the Oslo Plaza.... Who loved nothing more than babysitting his nieces and nephews alive in April of 2004 at!.. his family has worked to preserve his memory during their long wait for justice his. Circumstances, said Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard in a creek in La Cygne remains were not found until 1st... Expect but were up for an adventure KBI and their evidence recovery team did an extensive search Alonzo. In this browser for the next time i comment from his pockets that his mom obviously! A pile of brush and branches in the mood to think too deeply about making sure they stayed.! Of the families woods and pastures his BROTHER mentioned his ankle being bad and would! The Sheriff and the me were in on it let alone barefoot or that far from.. Only on official, secure websites website in this browser for the next time i.. Paper objects from his nieces and nephews the confusing death resources, to bring those responsible to justice a release! '' a mile away from the beginning of his case, rumors swirled Brooks! Participated in investigating the events that has remained unsolved for 18 years ick factor found dead that... Been way more decomposed and naked, in April of 2004, despite extensive searches the... Under an hour, they found Alonzos body, partially on top of a pile of brush and branches the.
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