ALONZO BROOKS: Disappeared after leaving party in La Cygne, KS - 3 April 2004 / Body found 1 May 2004 - $100,000 Reward

Alonzo Brooks was last seen on the evening of April 3, 2004 attending a party at a rural home outside of La Cygne, Kansas. His family reported him missing after he did'nt returned home. Alonzo's body was found in a nearby creek on May 1, 2004. He was 23 years old at the time of his murder.

Department of Justice and FBI are investigating Alonzo's death as a racially motivated hate crime.

Before he was murdered, Alonzo Brooks was last seen on the evening of April 3, 2004 attending a party at a rural home outside of La Cygne, Kansas.

Department of Justice and FBI are investigating Alonzo's death as a racially motivated hate crime.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Regina]

As I understand the info, he was fully clothed except that his boots were found in the vicinity of the driveway on opposites sides of the road and his beanie was with or very near the boot on the driveway side. Other info is that he had a recently-injured ankle that was still painful.

I'm sorry, I need to correct some of that info..
The boot and the beanie were found on the north side of the road, seemingly a little to the west of the driveway and the other boot appears to have been on that same side of the road (north) but on the other side of the bridge (he's pointing so it's hard to tell for sure) "along that creek bank".
Btw, I'm curious to know which ankle was injured and which boot was where because it's indeed a long driveway, especially for a person with a sore ankle.

 

[Guess Who]

I haven't heard but I think it's safe to assume that his BAL would have been high that night.

No.

It's my impression of the photo that the body came to be where it was due to the water flow of the creek.
Anyway, I don't know why the AFIP pathologist would have ruled manner as homicide but it appears to me it's based on an anatomic finding, which is unusual in a case without an obvious cause of death, such as a gunshot or stab wound, broken bone(s) or if the body was contained or there were bindings, etc.
I know the info is that there were changes regarding decomposition that he didn't think correlated with an accidental death but I know that a body found a month later and in that type of environment immediately presents challenges to for any pathologist to interpret simply because there's a lot to take into account.

Injured tissues decompose differently than non injured tissues. It was spring so the weather was cool and water probably even cooler so there might not have been that much full decomp, especially in a shaded/protected area. They might have easily been able to tell that he had injuries such as a closed head injury or internal damage. I'm pretty certain the ME did not come up with that conclusion lightly.

 

[Whatsnext]

Injured tissues decompose differently than non injured tissues. It was spring so the weather was cool and water probably even cooler so there might not have been that much full decomp, especially in a shaded/protected area. They might have easily been able to tell that he had injuries such as a closed head injury or internal damage. I'm pretty certain the ME did not come up with that conclusion lightly.

I agree, normally they are very happy to say that no foul play is suspected. For them to conlude otherwise there must be clear evidence that can't be explained away.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I also can only believe they have good reason to think this was foul play/murder. It looks that way to me even with just the bits and pieces we have and of course they know more. They also seem to use this one as an example of a hate crime and I'd have to suspect there is reason for that as well.

 

[Regina]

Injured tissues decompose differently than non injured tissues. It was spring so the weather was cool and water probably even cooler so there might not have been that much full decomp, especially in a shaded/protected area. They might have easily been able to tell that he had injuries such as a closed head injury or internal damage. I'm pretty certain the ME did not come up with that conclusion lightly.

Yeah, I don't think cause of death in this case was/is "easy to tell" but whatever.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Yeah, I don't think cause of death in this case was/is "easy to tell" but whatever.

We don't know everything though. I'm sure they have good reason for calling it foul play. We don't know interviews, evidence, or almost any findings.

I don't know why you'd assume they don't have good reason for it or assume you can know otherwise based on the little we know versus what LE likely knows.

Aren't you married to a cop? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Both the DOJ and FBI are involved here.

Sure some cases have questions and there can be corruption but I don't think it's the norm but I see no reason here to think what they are saying is off base. And with so many agencies involved.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

KC Unsolved: 2004 Kansas hate crime murder remains unsolved despite $100,000 reward

Alonzo Brooks, was last seen at a large house party in La Cygne, Kansas in April of 2004.

www.kctv5.com

KC Unsolved: 2004 Kansas hate crime murder remains unsolved despite $100,000 reward​

Esperanza Roberts is used to talking about her brother. In the 20 years since he was found dead, his story has been featured on Dateline and Unsolved Mysteries. Despite all the telling and retelling, she still chokes up.

“It’s been 20 years, but it still hurts like it was yesterday,” Roberts said. “Alonzo has missed out on a lot, you know? He’s missed out on having a life. We’ve missed out on seeing that.”

Her brother, Alonzo Brooks, was last seen at a large house party in La Cygne, Kansas in April of 2004. Alonzo was 23 years old. What followed was a series of strange developments.

A search by law enforcement turned up empty. Then, his family found him dead nearly a month later in the same area. How could that be? For years, his cause of death was unknown. In 2020, 16 years after his death, his body was exhumed and a new autopsy classified his death as a homicide. The FBI is investigating it as a hate crime. Four years ago, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. It remains unclaimed


‘TWO TROUBLING FACTS WERE INDISPUTABLE’

Special agent Leena Ramana was assigned to the case when the FBI re-opened it in 2019, 15 years after his death. She reviewed past interviews and did new ones.

“The initial interviews that were conducted had some of the party goers talking about racial slurs being used,” Ramana said.

She estimated there were 100 people at the party, possibly more. Alonzo was one of only three Black people at the party. He may have been the only one there as the night wore on. Word spreads fast in a town like La Cygne. Investigators heard numerous rumors leading them to believe they had a hate crime on their hands.

“Some said Brooks may have flirted with a girl, some said drunken white men wanted to fight an African-American male, and some said racist whites simply resented Brooks’ presence,” a 2020 news release from McCallister’s office read. “After the party, two troubling facts were indisputable: Alonzo could not be found; and no one who attended the party would admit to knowing what happened to him.”

BODY EXHUMED

In 2020, Alonzo’s body was exhumed from his grave site in Topeka. It was sent to Dover Air Force Base for examination by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner who received assistance from forensic pathologists. A 2021 FBI news release referred to “injuries to parts of Brooks’ body that the examiner concluded are inconsistent with normal patterns of decomposition.”

“From my understanding, the forensic anthropologist, he was able to review not only the body that we had brought to him and the medical examiner but review the photographs and the insects and the landscape around Alonso’s body when it was recovered, and use that in for his consideration,” Ramana explained. “From that, they ruled that Alonzo’s death was a homicide.”

Ramana would not say how investigators believe he died or even whether a determination was made on the manner of death. She did, however, have answers to the question of why he wasn’t found by law enforcement before his family found his body.

She too was curious how the family’s search succeeded after the law enforcement search failed.

“One of the things we first went back to look at was the rainfall that occurred in the area at that time, and the rise in the fall of middle Creek and how that responded,” Ramana said. “It’s possible, with the rainfall that had occurred, that that creek rose and fell on a couple of different occasions, which would allow for anything that was trapped under the really large brush piles to become dislodged and rise to the surface.”

‘YOU‘RE OLDER NOW’

In 2020, the FBI announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of those responsible for Alonzo’s death. It is substantially higher than the rewards offered for homicides in the area. Four years later, there is no indication anyone has provided ample information to claim it.

The passage of time can be discouraging, but in one way it brings fresh hope. Many of the people at the party in 2004 were underaged. The hope is that as adults, they will be more forthright.

“You’re older now,” Roberts said, addressing the people still hiding what they know. “Your parents can’t do anything to you. Tell us what happened if you know something.”

Ramana said even something small, like the names of other people who were there, could help.

“They may assume that we already knew that but it’s a new name and another individual that we can speak to,” she said.

When the U.S. attorney re-opened the case, Alonzo’s spoke to KCTV5 indicating he was hopeful. He has since died. But the hope is still alive.

“I still feel that there are things that we can do and people we can talk to and advancements and technology that we don’t even have right now that may be the key to solving all of this,” Ramana said.

For Roberts, there’s that and something more basic.

“We just have faith,” she said. “We have faith that eventually, we’re going to find out what happened and we will get some justice.”

$100,000 REWARD

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Alonzo’s death. You can call the FBI at 816-512-8200 or the anonymous Greater KC Crimestoppers Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. You can also submit a tip online at tips.FBI.gov or through the Crimestoppers online tip submission form.