FBI Exhumes Body Because of Netflix True Crime Show

The remains of Alonzo Brooks were unearthed from his Topeka, Kansas resting place after an episode of Unsolved Mysteries sparked national interest in the cold case.  

The Netflix show featured Brooks’ sixteen-year-old cold case in the episode No Ride Home, which highlighted Alonzo’s April 2004 disappearance after attending a rural gathering far away from home. 

Brooks, 23, and three friends traveled fifty miles to a large house party in La Cygne, KS, where he was one of the few African Americans in attendance. Witnesses say Brooks almost got into a fight with another man over a woman and was called racial slurs by several attendees.  

Alonzo did not return home with his friends after the party, and was reported missing to local authorities by his mother. Police began to search for Brooks the next day, and located his hat and boots on the street where the party was held, but didn’t find Alonzo.  

A month later, after no new leads were found, Brooks’ family petitioned authorities to join the search, and found his body themselves on the first day. The coroner was unable to determine the cause of death, but his family has long maintained that he was the victim of a hate crime.  

Nearly two decades later, the FBI seems to concur. Brooks’ body was exhumed by investigators Tuesday, and they have offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for Alonzo’s suspicious death.  

What happened to Alonzo Brooks? The FBI wants to know. Browse the evidence. There is a $100K reward for tips leading to an arrest in his case. #unsolvedmysteries #Justiceforalonzobrooks pic.twitter.com/wQUuelRd79

— Unsolved Mysteries (@Unsolved) July 13, 2020

For a mystery with closure, police have arrested a suspect connected to the decapitation and dismemberment of a multi-millionaire tech CEO in Manhattan on Friday.

Marie Finn