Investigators have exhumed the body of Alonzo Brooks 16 years after his death at a Kansas party after a surge in interest in his case when he appeared on Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries docuseries.
Brooks was 23 when he disappeared after the party in the rural town of La Cygne on the night of April 3, 2004.
His body was found by a stream on May 1, and his family has always insisted that he was killed.
He was one of only three blacks in the gathering of 100 revelers, and some partygoers made racist remarks, said Stephen McAllister, US Attorney.
McAllister said there were also numerous reports of multiple fights breaking out.
Alonzo Brooks, 23, died after a party on April 3, 2004 in La Cygne, Kansas
Brooks’ body was exhumed from a cemetery in Topeka, Kansas, on Tuesday.
He added that Brooks’ trip to the party was gone without him. When Brooks couldn’t get home the next day, his family knew something was wrong.
Brooks’ body was found on May 1, 2004.
A search team of 50 people set out to find Brooks when he disappeared.
His body was so decomposed when it was discovered that his cause of death was not considered conclusive.
His friends and family believe that he was killed in a racially motivated attack.
Brooks’ case appeared as part of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries series, and during filming last year, McAllister became aware of the unsolved case.
The show highlighting Brooks’ disappearance aired on July 1, and in the first 24 hours after the episode hit the streaming service, the FBI reported “at least three credible tips” regarding the case.
The FBI also received 20 other tips regarding the other cases presented in the first six episodes of the show.
On July 11, just over a week after Unsolved Mysteries debuted on Netflix, the FBI and the Justice Department announced that the Brooks case had been reopened as a result of new leads from the series.
Officials were seen with a bulldozer at Brook’s grave at a cemetery in Topeka, Kansas, on Tuesday.
“I can confirm that the body was exhumed today as part of the Brooks investigation,” said Jim Cross, a spokesman for the United States Attorney’s Office.
The FBI now offers a $ 100,000 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan also announced that the FBI is offering a reward of up to $ 100,000 to anyone with information about Brooks’ disappearance.
“There are many unanswered questions surrounding Alonzo’s death,” said Langan.
“Someone knows something and we hope that over time and this significant reward this renewed effort will produce results and close the Brooks family.”
Maria Ramirez, Brooks’ mother, told NBC Dateline that she and the Brooks family had always believed that there was a racial component to her mysterious death.
“I am Mexican and her father is black,” she said. ‘Then he is mixed. They didn’t just target one race. Or kill a race. They killed two. He was attacked for the color of his skin.
Brooks’ father Billy Brooks told the show that he hopes the renewed attention of the Netflix series on the case, and the FBI’s reward, will help the family finally get answers.
“It is a significant amount of money,” he said. “I hope he pushes someone to do the right thing and introduce himself.”
The circumstances surrounding Brooks’ death have never been fully explained.
Leena Ramana, another FBI agent, agreed that the Netflix show was crucial in reviving interest in the Brooks case.
“It’s been 16 years, but we hope that with this passage of time, someone with information will show up,” he said.
‘Some of these children, who are now adults, may have been afraid to show up earlier, or may not have known what they saw was important.
“But any information is important and could be the missing piece of the puzzle we need to solve this case.”
Maria Ramirez, photographed with her son Alonzo Brooks, hopes the Netflix series will provide answers.
McAllister, the US attorney, said “the code of silence must be broken.”
“We are investigating whether Alonzo was killed,” he told KSNT News.
“ His death was certainly suspicious, and someone, probably several people, knows what happened that night in April 2004.
‘It is time for the truth to come out. The code of silence must be broken.
“Alonzo’s family deserves to know the truth, and it is time for justice to be done.”
He said he was convinced that there were “people who have been keeping terrible secrets all these years and bearing a horrible burden.”
“We are asking one or more of them to come forward now and finally put that burden to rest so that we can ease the suffering of a family and serve the cause of justice.”
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