A white former Connecticut college student accused of smearing body fluids from a used tampon on her black roommate’s belongings was back in court on Monday but did not enter plea, as previously expected.
Brianna Brochu briefly appeared in Hartford Superior Court to ask for a trial by jury, and her case was continued until January 29.
Civil rights advocates staged a protest outside the courthouse, demanding that hate crime charges be filed against Brochu for her alleged harassment of Chennel ‘Jazzy’ Rowe.
Brianna Brochu, the former University of Hartford student accused of smearing body fluids on her roommate’s belongings, makes a brief appearance in Hartford Superior court on Monday
‘This is a hate crime,’ state NASACP President Scot X Esdaile said on Monday. ‘We cannot sweep this under the rug. We are not going away. We will continue to come to court to make sure that justice is serve,’ reported WTNH.
Brochu’s lawyer, Tom Stevens, has said his client’s actions weren’t racially motivated.
Prosecutors say they are still investigating the allegations.
Brochu, 18, was arrested in October for misdemeanor criminal mischief and breach of the peace after being expelled from The University of Hartford in Connecticut over her abusive treatment of her roommate, whom she dubbed a ‘Jamaican Barbie.’
Each crime carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. The harshest hate crimes in Connecticut carry a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
The pair shared a dormitory together but Brochu was determined for Rowe to move out.
During a previous court appearance, Brochu’s defense lawyer argued that the pair simply did not get along. He said Rowe triggered Brochu’s response by posting an ‘unflattering’ Snapchat video of her snoring.
Brochu, 18, appeared in court in Hartford, Connecticut, in November, facing criminal mischief charges for tormenting her college roommate earlier this year
To prompt her departure, Brochu smeared blood from her own used tampons on Rowe’s backpack, spat in her ‘coconut oil’, put ‘clam dip’ in her body lotion and put her toothbrush ‘where the sun don’t shine’.
Brochu boasted about her efforts on Instagram where she also referred to her as ‘Jamaican Barbie’ after Rowe requested a different room.
Her lawyer said the name – which some considered proof of Brochu’s racist views towards her roommate – was how Rowe described herself online.
Upon seeing the post, Rowe contacted the university and also told the police about how she had been torturing her.
She said she did not know why Brochu was so unkind and that she’d started off trying to befriend her.
‘She lives in Connecticut and she would go home every weekend. I would always feed her fish.
Brochu was trying to force her roommate Chennelle ‘Jazzy’ Rowe out of their shared dorm. She is pictured right in her mugshot
Brochu boasted about how she tormented her roommate on Instagram after she moved out and referred to her as ‘Jamaican Barbie’
Brochu was expelled from the university after being arrested. Her lawyer said on Thursday that the abuse was not racially motivated
‘I don’t understand why, which is why I think it’s a whole racial/hate issue,’ she said in a Facebook video detailing the abuse.
The teenager said she believes Brochu’s efforts made her sick and that she consistently suffered a sore throat.
‘I’m spending my own money that my parents give me for food and groceries, the health centre on campus is not free – in fact they’re expensive,’ she complained.
Brochu’s lawyer said he was confident hate crime charges would not be filed.
‘I think this is sort of not the case that you all have been fanning the flame on,’ attorney Tom Stevens told The Hartford Courant outside the court in November. ‘I think when it’s all said and done, what you’re gonna see is there was nothing racial that motivated this.’
Rowe (above documenting how Brochu tormented her in a Facebook video) is accused of starting the feud by posting a video of Brochu snoring on Snapchat
Brochu’s lawyer said the case was one of two young students simply not getting along after being randomly placed together
‘This was two students who were placed together, I think randomly … who didn’t like each other, like has been happening since kids went to school and became roommates.
‘There was a tipping point that caused my clients to do whatever she did and it was when Ms. Rowe took some unflattering videotape of her and posted it,’ Stevens said.
Brochu’s family have not commented on her arrest.
The freshman had been admitted to the university on an art scholarship.