DNA from UW student attack ‘one in one quadrillion’ match to suspect – The Capital Times

Editors note: The Cap Times has withheld many details about this crime in consideration of the victims privacy and the potential trauma for some readers; however, the story includes information about sexual violence that may still be difficult to read. Caution is advised. The National Sexual Assault Hotline provides 24/7 crisis counseling at online.rainn.org or 1-800-656-4673.

DNA from a man accused of viciously attacking and nearly killing a University of Wisconsin student last weekend contained the most identifiable match possible to evidence found at the crime scene, according to a criminal complaint.

Beyond the biological evidence, Madison police also used business and residential surveillance videos, a Fitchburg officers body cam footage and the suspects own statements about being a monster who saw red to conclude that Brandon A. Thompson stalked and then physically and sexually assaulted the woman sometime between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Sunday in a downtown neighborhood, the complaint shows.

Dane County prosecutors filed three felony charges against Thompson, 26, Thursday in the random attack after police arrested him Wednesday morning.

Thompson, who is a resident of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, was charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury, and strangulation and suffocation. The woman attacked, whose name has not been released to the news media, was found in critical condition along the 500 block of West Wilson Street around 3:20 a.m. Sunday, according to the Madison Police Department incident report. She is in her 20s and is expected to survive despite suffering injuries so severe she was temporarily in a medically induced coma, according to prosecutors and an update from police on Tuesday.

Videos submitted by members of the public helped lead police to Thompson, who remained at the scene of the attack and told nearby residents that he found the injured victim, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the Cap Times.

Cash bail is set for $1 million and a preliminary hearing will take place on Sep. 25 in the Dane County Courthouse.

Police Sgt. Daniel Sherrick was the first on the scene, according to the complaint, and said the students condition was "one of the most horrifying things I've seen." She was unable to communicate to police when they arrived and was transported to UW Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The student had multiple facial fractures, including a broken jaw and broken nose, a missing tooth and a traumatic brain injury and an MRI showed a small brain bleed. She needed eight stitches to repair her upper lip, and nurses in the hospitals emergency department confirmed the student was strangled and sexually assaulted.

The student is currently on a feeding tube and unable to provide a statement as she shows extreme signs of confusion when awake, the complaint said.

The UW student arrived at a friends apartment at 7:56 p.m. on Saturday and left between 2:16 a.m. and 2:18 a.m. Sunday, according to a witness statement described in the complaint. The witness told officers she texted the victim at 2:43 a.m. asking if she made it home safely but the text was never read or responded to. The witness stated the victim is not a person who partied or a drug user.

Initial police reports state that residents in the 500 block of West Wilson Street called 911 after being alerted by a male who identified himself as Brandon. One witness said she was in her house when she heard a male voice yell to her through an open window that a female needed help.

The witness said Thompson claimed he was out for a "high walk" when he came upon the victim and seemed concerned for her wellbeing, according to the complaint. When the witness realized the victim was covered in blood and called the police, Thompson appeared to become "antsy," claimed he did not want to be around police when he was high and left the scene.

A different witness at the scene said he noticed dried blood on the mans hands. The man, whom police later identified as Thompson, told the witnesses he had carried the students bloodied body to that site after finding her nearby in the street. Police investigators said they found blood only in the location where the woman was found by other witnesses, not in the street.

Neighborhood surveillance videos in the area captured a man matching Thompsons description walking behind the victim just prior to the assault, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a press conference Wednesday. That information was repeated in the complaint filed Thursday. The complaint says Thompson was later located and arrested at Meriter Hospital, although the report does not describe why he sought medical treatment.

Videos from the area also showed a man believed to be Thompson exiting a car parked at Brittingham Park not long before the attack, according to the complaint. The vehicle's description and plate number matched a car Fitchburg Police had pulled over a few hours before the assault for a registration violation. The Fitchburg body camera video showed Thompson, who was driving, wearing clothes that matched those of the man seen in surveillance videos before the assault.

During an interview with detectives, he made incriminating statements, saying he was mad and wanted to hit something, according to the complaint. Thompson also told police the victim "came across a monster" that night.

Thompson admitted to encountering a woman and saw red and didn't know what was going on, the complaint says. Thompson stated the next thing he remembered was the female on the ground in front of him. He also stated, I went into a rage, when I came to, she was on the ground. The only thing I remember is just hitting.

When questioned further about the sexual assault, Thompson said something like, "I don't remember it during the actual assault, I just kind of zoned out during the rage," according to the complaint. When detectives asked Thompson if he could have sexually assaulted the victim, he stated, "I could have."

DNA from a Forensic Nurse Examination of the victim is consistent with the profile of Brandon Thompson, the complaint says, with a probability of one in one quadrillion. The DNA analyst said one in one quadrillion is the highest probability that the Wisconsin State Crime Lab will identify.

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DNA from UW student attack 'one in one quadrillion' match to suspect - The Capital Times