The death of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks, who was found dead in a creek 17 years ago after a house party in rural Kansas, was decided as a murder after his body was exhumed, as authorities considered his case as a possible hate crime investigated.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Monday that his body was exhumed as part of an ongoing federal investigation into Alonzo’s death and taken to Dover Air Force Base for investigation. The examiner’s report concludes that his death was a murder.
“We knew Alonzo Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances,” said acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard. ‘This new investigation by a team of the world’s best forensic pathologists and experts confirms that it was no coincidence. Alonzo Brooks killed. We do everything we can and will spare no means to bring the responsible people to justice. ”
According to the release, the new autopsy focuses on injuries to parts of Alonzo’s body that, according to the examiner, are not in conflict with normal decomposition patterns. Details of the examination are withheld for investigative purposes.
In 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Kansas District and the FBI reopened the investigation into Brooks’ death, which had been dormant for years. His case was featured in Dateline’s online series “Cold Case Spotlight” last year.
As part of the new investigation, the FBI also announced a reward of $ 100,000 for information that led to the arrest and conviction of someone responsible for Alonzo’s death.
In the initial investigation, a coroner in Linn County said he could not determine the cause of death, and that witnesses’ interviews were not arrested.
According to authorities, the new investigation focused on determining whether Alonzo, an African-American man, was the victim of a racially motivated murder.
The 23-year-old was last seen alive in April 2004 during a party in a farmhouse on the outskirts of La Cygne. He was one of only three African-American men at the party, who attended 100 or more people.
Alonzo’s family told Dateline he drove to the party with friends, but they left before he left without a ride home. When Alonzo was unable to return home the next day, his family and friends contacted the Sheriff’s Department of Linn County.
According to reports at the time, the Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement agencies searched areas around the farmhouse, including parts of nearby Middle Creek, but found Alonzo.
After Alonzo went missing for almost a month, a group of his family and friends organized a search. They started on the road near the farmhouse and walked the two branches of Middle Creek. In just under an hour, they found the body of Alonzo, partially on top of a pile of brush and branches in the creek.
Alonzo’s father said he and a family friend spotted him.
“My God, that was awful,” said Billy Brooks Sr. Told Dateline. “To find my boy like that. Nothing can describe that pain. ”
Billy said during their search that day, the clouds were cloudy and threatened rain. But when they get the body of Alonzo, the sky shines and the sun comes out.
“It was like my boy told me everything was fine now,” Billy said. ‘At least we found him. That was not how we wanted to find him, but at least. ‘
Alonzo’s family continues to search for answers in his case. A Facebook page “Justice for Alonzo Brooks” has been created to discuss the case and help raise awareness.
Anyone with information about Alonzo’s case is asked to call the FBI at 816-512-8200 or 816-474-TIPS or file a fee online at tips.fbi.gov.
