Overview
- Desmond Carter is scheduled to go on trial on Aug. 17, 2026, on rape charges tied to the January 2023 incident that left Madison Brooks fatally struck after she was left on the roadside.
- Prosecutors say three men — Carter, Kaivon Washington and Casen Carver — sexually assaulted Brooks inside a vehicle before she staggered into traffic; the East Baton Rouge coroner concluded she died of multiple traumatic injuries and investigators reported a blood-alcohol level of .319%.
- The defendants deny the rape claims and previously sought to introduce an alternative explanation for Brooks’ injuries that a judge rejected as irrelevant to the trial theory.
- Carter’s lawyers have filed a motion to prohibit spectators from wearing pink or other supporter displays, arguing such shows could bias jurors, and prosecutors have urged the court to deny the request as peaceful victim advocacy.
- Procedural disputes over who will preside have intensified after reporting and filings raised questions about the presiding judge’s family ties and led to earlier recusal motions, creating added contention in pretrial scheduling and courtroom rules.