Darrell Brooks: Verdict reached in murder trial of Waukesha Christmas parade suspect
A verdict has been reached in the murder trial of Darrell Brooks – the man accused of intentionally plowing his SUV into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, almost one year ago.
Jurors told the court that they had reached a verdict on Wednesday morning, after spending less than four hours deliberating the case.
Brooks, 40, is charged with 70 counts, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, over the mass attack which left six paradegoers dead and 62 more victims injured.
On the evening of 21 November 2021, the close-knit Waukesha community was enjoying its annual seasonal festivities when Brooks allegedly drove his Ford Escape through police barricades and slammed into paradegoers and participants in his path.
Tamara Durand, 52, LeAnna Owen, 71, and Virginia “Ginny” Sorenson, 79, and William Hospel, 81, were marching in the parade as part of local dance troupe for grandmothers the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies when they were mowed down and killed.
Jane Kulich, 52, was representing her employer Citizen Bank in the parade when she too was struck and killed.
Jackson Sparks, 8, was also struck by the vehicle while marching for his baseball team alongside his older brother Tucker. Jackson was rushed to hospital but died two days later from his injuries.
Brooks was arrested near the scene of the mass attack that night after he turned up at the home of a local resident.
The alleged killer told the homeowner he was homeless and waiting for an Uber and the man – unaware of the massacre that had just unfolded – welcomed him into his home.
Brooks has been held behind bars ever since his arrest and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
If convicted, Brooks faces life in prison.
No motive has been given but prosecutors say that he deliberately drove into the crowd of victims after allegedly having an argument with his ex-girlfriend earlier that day.
The woman, who Brooks is accused of running over with the same vehicle earlier that month, said that the former couple argued inside his SUV, according to prosecutors.
Brooks then allegedly drove off with her inside the car and repeatedly struck her in the face. She eventually managed to escape.
Not long later, Brooks drove his vehicle into the parade crowd, running over 68 victims, prosecutors said.
Following a three-week trial, jurors spent around two hours deliberating on Tuesday afternoon before being sequestered for the night. They resumed deliberations at 9.30am ET on Wednesday.
The deliberations came after the court heard closing arguments that, symptomatic of the entire trial, made a mockery of the ongoing suffering of the victims and their families.
Ever since the murder trial began back on 3 October, it has resembled something of a circus with the alleged murderer representing himself in court despite having no legal training.
In his latest courtroom performance on Wednesday morning, Brooks asked for a mistrial over a Reddit post from someone posing as a juror.
Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow told the court on Tuesday evening that she had been made aware of someone claiming to be a juror posting on a “Justice4Darrell” sub-Reddit. The post was largely supportive of Brooks and critical of the judge.
An investigation has been launched into the matter with the judge allowing deliberations to continue. She said that there is no evidence the post did actually come from a member of the jury.
The user later edited the post saying: “This was all a prank, I didn’t think this would blow up like this. We are sorry.”
In court on Wednesday morning, Brooks told the judge he believes it is a real juror, saying “my specific request would be to look into a mistrial or any alternatives”.
“Clearly this points at your integrity, your honor. It’s alarming. It’s very alarming,” he said.
His request for a mistrial was denied.
The eleventh-hour bid to have his trial tossed comes after he sobbed during his closing argument on Tuesday – claiming that his car malfunctioned during the deadly attack and insisting that “my conscience is clear”.
Brooks, who was allowed to give his closing argument in person after being removed from the courtroom for much of the trial due to his repeated outbursts, even told the panel deciding his fate that the massacre “was God’s will”.
He stopped short of admitting that he was behind the wheel of the SUV that day but claimed that the car was faulty – before switching his version of events to say that “the driver” may have panicked.
“What if the vehicle couldn’t stop because of malfunction? What if the driver of the vehicle was unable to stop the vehicle? Because of that fact, what if the driver may have panicked? Does that make the driver in a rage and intent on killing people?” he said in his 50-minute statement.
“I’ve never heard of someone trying to intentionally hurt someone while attempting to blow their horn while attempting to alert people of their presence,” he added.
Brooks then claimed there was a recall on his vehicle, prompting Judge Dorow to strike those comments from the record.
The 40-year-old went on to ask the jury to think about the toll the trial had taken on his family, telling them that they need to “be at peace with what you decide”.
In the state’s closing argument, prosecutors said that there was overwhelming evidence that Brooks deliberately carried out the attack, pointing to the fact that he did not stop driving.
