Darrell Brooks Jr., the man accused of plowing down dozens of people Sunday during the Waukesha, Wisc., Christmas parade and killing five, will make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
Brooks, 39, has been charged with five counts of intentional homicide, Waukesha police announced Monday, but more charges could be coming as the investigation continues.
The victims have been identified as Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; Jane Kulich, 52; and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
Three of the victims — Sorenson, Owen and Durand — were members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a group of grandmas ranging from their early 50s to mid 70s that perform at more than a dozen parades every year.
“Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade, putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness. While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds cheers and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts,” the group said on Facebook Monday.
“Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed … joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue .... held us together.”
Almost 50 others were injured in the crash, including at least 18 children.
Police do not believe the incident was terrorism, but said Monday that Brooks was fleeing from a domestic disturbance minutes earlier. Brooks was not being pursued at the time of the crash.
Brooks has a lengthy criminal history, including domestic abuse charges for which he had been released on bond only two days earlier. The woman, reportedly the mother of his child, claimed that Brooks had punched her, then chased her to a gas station parking lot and run her over with his car. Police noted dried blood on her face and tire tracks on her left pant leg.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said the $1,000 cash bond for the November charges was “inappropriately low.”
“The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting the bail,” the DA’s office said in a statement Monday.
