Defense Seeks Dismissal in Madison Brooks Case, Alleging Evidence Leak to Nancy Grace

Defense Seeks Dismissal in Madison Brooks Case, Alleging Evidence Leak to Nancy Grace

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Defense Seeks Dismissal in Madison Brooks Case After Video Leaked to Nancy Grace

Just weeks before jury selection is set to begin, defense attorneys for Desmond Carter in the high-profile Madison Brooks case have filed a motion to dismiss all charges, accusing prosecutors of leaking restricted evidence to television personality Nancy Grace. The explosive claim, reported by WAFB, threatens to upend a case already fraught with legal and public scrutiny.

The motion, filed in East Baton Rouge Parish state district court, alleges that Grace viewed and discussed a video of the alleged sexual assault on her Oct. 29 podcast, “Crime Stories.” This video, the defense argues, is legally classified as contraband, meaning only prosecutors possess it and defense teams can only view it under strict supervision at the District Attorney’s office. The defense claims that if prosecutors do not comply with their demands, all evidence discussed on Grace’s national program should be excluded at trial.

Crime Stories

Defense Accuses DA of Leaking Video

“No defense lawyer has access to these videos. When we want to watch them, we have to go to the DA, set up an appointment, and watch them in the DA’s office. We are not allowed to make a copy. The only person that has it is the prosecution team,” attorney Joe Long, who represents Carter’s co-defendant Casen Carver, told WAFB. “Certainly Hillar Moore himself didn’t do this—but somebody on his staff likely did. They did this with the intent to poison the jury pool five weeks before trial.”

Long further complicated the defense’s position, suggesting that the version of the video Grace saw was likely an enhanced, more legible copy that the defense itself has not been permitted to view. “The versions of the video seen by the defense and shown previously in court were dark and difficult to see, making it impossible to make out any details of the alleged crime,” he explained. “The state made an enhanced and more legible version of the video, Long said, which the defense has still not seen. ‘Nancy Grace was very clear in what she said, and so that means she had to see the enhanced video because if she’d have seen the non-enhanced video, it’s pitch black.’”

Defense claims video leaked to Nancy Grace in Madison Brooks case

The DA’s Fiery Rebuttal

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore met the defense’s allegations with a forceful denial, calling the motion a baseless delay tactic. “To me, it’s complete, total, baseless bulls***. And it’s offensive,” Moore told WAFB. “No one in this office has released any videos to anyone, particularly to any lawyer associated with the victim in this case, or the parents of the victim in this case.”

Moore reiterated that the recordings, obtained directly from the suspects’ cellphones, are legally classified as contraband due to their sensitive and explicit nature, barring public release. He also shifted blame, suggesting the evidence’s origin lies with the defendants themselves. “Any control of any evidence was in the hands of the defendants themselves,” Moore added. “The only video that was ever shown to the public was shown in court.” WBRZ reported that Moore’s email response was similarly pointed: “They should ask their clients what they did with the video they took before police discovered them.”

Defense Seeks Dismissal in Madison Brooks Case, Alleging Evidence Leak to Nancy Grace
Photo: wbrz.com

Case Stems from Death of Madison Brooks

The case stems from the death of 19-year-old Madison Brooks, an LSU sophomore who was struck and killed by a car on Burbank Drive in January 2023 following a night out in Tigerland. According to arrest documents reported by WBRZ, Brooks left Reggie’s Bar with Desmond Carter, Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington, and Everett Lee in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, 2023. Investigators allege that Washington and Carter sexually assaulted Brooks in the backseat of Carver’s vehicle. The group then dropped Brooks off at an address in the Pelican Lakes subdivision before she wandered into the roadway.

The defense has consistently maintained a lack of forensic evidence against their clients.

“I’m quite confident that when a fair-minded jury or judge sees the actual evidence or lack of evidence in this case, they’re going to realize that this was a tragedy but it wasn’t a crime,” Long said.

Sources told WAFB’s Chief Investigator Chris Nakamoto that crime lab results showed none of the suspects’ DNA was detected inside Brooks.

The defense’s motion also highlights a key procedural detail: a video was indeed played in open court during a bond hearing for Carter in August 2023. Theadvocate.com reported that the video showed a man and woman having sex in the back seat of a car, but their faces were not visible. Prosecutors argued at the time that the video showed Carter and Brooks. In another clip played in court, a man could be heard saying “they finna rape her,” and a woman yelling “get off” as loud music played.

Trial Date Hinges on Motion

Carter’s trial is currently set to begin on Dec. 7 before Judge Gail Horne Ray, as noted by Theadvocate.com. However, the future of that trial now hinges on the court’s decision regarding the defense’s motion to dismiss. A hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled. The central question remains: who leaked the video, if it was leaked at all, and what impact has it had on the ability to find an impartial jury in Baton Rouge and beyond. For now, the only certainty is that the legal battle over the Madison Brooks case has just taken a dramatic new turn.

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