Judge Sets $5M Bail for Waukesha Killings Suspect; Death Toll Rises to 6

A Milwaukee judge set a $5 million dollar bail for Waukesha Christmas parade killings suspect Darrell Brooks during his court appearance on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old Brooks, who is a registered sex offender in the state of Nevada with an active warrant out for his arrest, had been involved in multiple domestic disputes previous to Sunday night’s tragedy, most recently being released on $1,000 bail for attempting to run over his ex-partner.

Brooks was charged with five counts of intentional homicide on Tuesday, but a sixth victim succumbed to his injuries during Brooks’ appearance. Prosecutors are now considering adding a sixth homicide charge. The judge set Brooks’ bail at $5 million dollars.

The sixth victim is 8-year-old Jackson Sparks. Sparks was attending the parade with his family and his 12-year-old brother, Tucker, who was also seriously injured in the attacks but is gradually improving.

It has recently come to light that Brooks was found guilty of statutory sexual seduction fifteen years ago in Nevada. Brooks pled guilty to the charge and spent a year in the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, from 2007 to 2008.

Suspect Darrell Brooks drove SUV into Crowd at Waukesha’s annual Christmas parade

Brooks drove a red SUV into a crowd watching a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Sunday, killing six people and injuring 48 others.

The suspect “intentionally drove his maroon SUV through barricades into a crowd of people,” Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson said to the press on Monday.

Brooks plowed into the pedestrians as he was fleeing the scene of a violent exchange where a knife was wielded. Brooks attempted to escape through Waukesha’s Main Street where the Christmas parade was being held.

“The suspect prior to the incident was involved in a domestic disturbance, which was minutes prior,” Thompson said. “And the suspect left that scene just prior to our arrival at that domestic disturbance.

“There is no evidence this was a terrorist incident.”

“Milwaukee Dancing Grannies” killed in Waukesha incident

Thompson also said that four of the six pedestrians killed were members or associates of the “Milwaukee Dancing Grannies”: Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81, a husband of one of the Grannies. The fifth victim, Jane Kulich, 52, was walking in the parade on behalf of her employer, Citizen Bank.

The Dancing Grannies took to Facebook to express their grief over the loss of Sorensen, Owen, Durand, and Hospel:

“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.”