The Waukesha ‘car killer’ who allegedly plowed through the community’s annual Christmas parade was charged with a sixth count of first-degree intentional homicide Monday six days after a sixth victim, Jackson Sparks, 8, died from his injuries.
Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, had the first five charges brought against him on November 23 in connection with the deaths of Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
In addition to allegedly killing the above six, Brooks injured over 60 people when he slammed his SUV into the crowd last Sunday.
Seven children are still recovering in the hospital, three of which are in serious condition, Children’s Hospital Wisconsin confirmed on social media today.
Darrell Brooks, 39, the Waukesha Christmas parade ‘car killer,’ was charged with a sixth count of first-degree intentional homicide today
The charge comes after the sixth victim of the tragedy, Jackson Sparks, 8, died from his injuries last Tuesday. He is pictured above (bottom) with his brother Tucker, 12
Jackson, the latest victim to die, was a third-grade student at Clarendon Avenue Elementary School in Mukwonago and a member of LifePoint Church, according to his obituary.
‘Jackson loved baseball and played for the Waukesha Blazers. When not playing baseball, or slam-dunking basketballs throughout the house, Jackson enjoyed fishing, catching frogs, and playing with his brother Tucker and his dog Qi’ra,’ his obituary reads.
Brooks, who faces life in prison if convicted, is currently being held on $5 million bail in a jail in Wisconsin. The Christmas parade tragedy is the latest in a series of violent crimes he is tied to going back 22 years and spanning across numerous states.
Brooks, who is also a registered sex offender, has been arrested more than 15 times in the state of Wisconsin alone for charges including possession of drugs, strangulation and suffocation, battery, illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon and resisting arrest.
Social media footage shows the speeding red SUV collide into a group of people marching in the middle of the street during the annual holiday parade in Waukesha, about 20 miles west of downtown Milwaukee
The Christmas parade began on Sunday at 4pm, with participants starting at Main St. and Whiterock Ave. It was always intended to be a short parade, ending half a mile away at the northeast corner of Cutler Park. At 4.39pm, the red SUV is filmed speeding down Main Street. It smashed into the crowd, and sent bodies flying, before carrying on down towards the end of the parade, where the car broke through barriers. The SUV was found less than five blocks away and the driver was taken into custody but it’s unclear exactly where
The decision to hold him on bail in connection with the parade tragedy sparked outrage after it was revealed he was out on $1,000 bail when allegedly plowed through the crowd.
After spending eight months behind bars between July 2020 and February 2021 for shooting at another vehicle on the road after a fight, Brooks found himself out on bail after a bond previously at $10,000 was dropped to $500 in February.
He was then arrested again, on November 2, in Milwaukee, for hunting down the mother of one of his children at a local hotel. He then followed her down the street with his red Ford SUV – the same vehicle suspected to have been used in last Sunday’s tragedy – and allegedly ran her over in the parking lot of a gas station after she refused to get into his car.
DailyMail.com obtained copies of his arrest warrant for that incident on Monday which reveal he followed her to a gas station, punched her ‘with a closed fist’ and then ‘ran her over.’
Brooks the driver of the SUV that crashed into the crowd Sunday, made his first appearance in court last Tuesday, the same day the tragedy claimed its sixth victim
Brooks was subsequently arrested and charged with five counts including bail jumping, for having failed to meet the terms of one of his many other sets of bail or probation requirements.
However, on November 11, the culpable criminal once again escaped incarceration by posting bail – this time on a $1,000 cash bond.
By November 19 – two days before the Waukesha attack – he was on the streets again; and by November 21, Brooks was allowed back behind the wheel of his Ford.
The Christmas parade began on Sunday at 4pm, with participants starting at Main St. and Whiterock Ave. It was always intended to be a short parade, ending half a mile away at the northeast corner of Cutler Park.
At 4.39pm, the red SUV is filmed speeding down Main Street. It smashed into the crowd, and sent bodies flying, before carrying on down towards the end of the parade, where the car broke through barriers. The SUV was found less than five blocks away and the driver was taken into custody but it’s unclear exactly where
Four of the six people who were killed in the annual Christmas parade were with the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, including Virginia ‘Ginny’ Sorenson, Leana ‘Lee’ Owen, Tamara Durand and Wilhelm Hospel, the husband of one of the Grannies.
Durand last Facebook post which she made just hours before the deadly events of Sunday night show her smiling and holding her pompoms while dressed in a winter coat and hat.
‘HERE WE GO!’ Durand wrote, adding a few Santa Claus emojis. ‘First Milwaukee Dancing Grannies parade! So excited!’
Tamara Durand (left), 52, and Leana ‘Lee’ Owen (right), 71, were two members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies who died in Sunday’s tragedy.
Virginia Sorenson (left), 79, was a nurse and member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a group of elderly woman marching in the parade. Wilhelm Hospel (right), 82, the husband of one of the grannies, died from internal bleeding, according to his older brother
Jane Kulich was a Citizen Bank employee who was walking with a parade float before she was fatally struck
It was also the first time Durand performed with the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.
Citizen Bank employee Jane Kulich, 52, was also identified as one of the fatalities. She was representing Citizens Bank in the parade procession when she was stuck and killed, according to her daughter.
On Sunday afternoon, a vigil was held at a memorial in the town as residents gathered to share their thoughts and support one another through grief.
As the time approached 4:39pm, a moment of silence was held remembering the horrific events that occurred exactly one week earlier.
‘We will grieve as a community, and we will heal as a community,’ Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said.
Businesses and city council members gave out blue light bulbs to residents, who have been asked to keep them illuminated outside of their homes throughout the holiday period.
‘Blue is the color of unity,’ the mayor explained. ‘Today and through the holidays, we ask you all to show unity with the injured with a simple act, unite with a blue light.’
