The family of Alonzo Brooks has long sought for authorities to reopen his case. And they did just that, with the FBI and Justice Department announcing that they would be looking into what happened to Brooks in 2004.

According to Fox4 in Kansas City, Brooks was partying with friends on April 3, 2004, but never came home. It was nearly a month before a group of his family and friends found his body nearby.

Because of the lengthy time between when he died and when his body was found, the cause of death for Brooks was undetermined.

The kids who attended the party denied knowing what happened to Brooks, and the case was closed by the local police department. His family has suffered in anguish about his disappearance and told Fox4 that nothing about the case made any sense.

It seems like federal investigators agreed because last year the Justice Department reopened the case. In a statement from the FBI, questions have been raised about the potential racial motivation behind Brooks' death and the police conduct after his body had been found.

According to the FBI, Fox4 and statements from Brooks' family, the 23-year-old was one of only three Black people who attended the 100-person party at a farmhouse in La Cygne, Kansas.

Brooks' aunt told Fox4 that the family heard rumors that Brooks was attacked for flirting with white girls at the party, was tortured and then was killed.

“He’s the only one of color who never came home. Everybody else went home. Nobody just disappears. You know somebody knows what happened,” said his brother Billy Brooks.

Investigations by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have yielded few answers because party attendees denied knowing what happened to Brooks.

Last Thursday, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister and FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Langan held a press conference where they offered a $100,000 reward for information about the case that leads to an arrest and conviction.

McAllister said, after spending months working through 16 years of evidence, witness statements and more, they had decided to reopen the case.

“We are investigating whether Alonzo was murdered. His death certainly was suspicious, and someone, likely multiple people, know(s) what happened that night in April 2004. It is past 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 served,” McAllister said according to a press release.

In the release, investigators said they are approaching the death as a racially motivated crime. Prosecutors said openly that since Brooks' death, witnesses have told them that either Brooks was attacked for flirting with a white girl or was simply attacked by white men at the party because he was Black.

The statement also questions the local sheriff’s department and other law enforcement agencies that searched near the farmhouse and could not find Brooks' body for weeks, destroying any chance at physical evidence that may have identified his killer.

“I have stood under the trees on the bank of Middle Creek where Alonzo’s body was found. It is a quiet place of profound sadness to one who knows its history, but no answers are there. I am convinced, however, that there are people who know the answers, 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 to lay down that burden at last, so that we can ease a family’s suffering, and serve the cause of justice,” McAllister said.

Langan and another FBI agent noted that the case was strange because so many people were in attendance, yet everyone said they do not know what happened to Brooks.

“There are many unanswered questions that surround Alonzo’s death. Someone knows something, and we are hopeful that with the passage of time and this significant reward, this renewed effort will produce results and provide closure for the Brooks family,” Langan said.

Shukri-Yahye-Abde

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