Heartless Waukesha parade killer Darrell Brooks rolls his eyes as victims’ address him

Grieving relatives of those injured and killed when a man drove through a Christmas parade near Milwaukee last year that left 6 dead and 62 injured confronted the driver on Tuesday during the first day of a two-day sentencing.

The driver, Darrell Brooks, 40, rolled his eyes during the impact statements and had to be ejected from the courtroom by Judge Jennifer Dorow after repeatedly interrupting proceedings.

Brooks faces life in prison after a circuit court jury in Waukesha, Wisconsin found him guilty on Oct. 26 of 76 counts, including six counts of willful homicide.

The sentencing hearing began Tuesday morning when relatives of the dead and injured, along with victims who survived the incident, told the court about their loved ones and confronted Brooks.

Jessica Gonzalez described hearing the “gasping and screaming” of Brooks’ rampage and said she was “frantically searching” for her son.

“I heard Mama coming from so many directions, but it wasn’t him,” Gonzalez said. She eventually found her son, huddled with his baseball team.

Gonzalez’s son was on the Jackson Sparks baseball team, who was killed in the attack.

Sheri Sparks, Jackson’s mother, said, “Our family has changed forever. We are hurt, angry, traumatized and broken.” Her other son, Tucker, was also injured.

“I feel gutted and broken. Sometimes it hurts to breathe,’ she added through tears. “Not only did this man take Jackson away from our family, he also violently ripped Jackson out of our lives.”

Jackson Sparks was the youngest person killed in the attack. The oldest was 81 years old. More than 60 others were injured, including at least 18 children.

Paradegoer Jackson Peck Love, who was one of those hit by Brooks’ SUV, described the impact it had on him and his family, including serious injuries and being unable to work for weeks.

He knocked Brooks down for showing “no remorse whatsoever” – and Brooks rolled his eyes at the ceiling as Mr. Love read his statement in court.

“I want you to remember that you almost took my life,” he said.

“Because of your actions, my wife cannot get the images out of her mind of what you have done. You drew her forever.

“Because of you, my wife had to give my children to our community friends to check on my lifeless body.”

The victims included members of a dance troupe known as the Dancing Grannies.

David Sorenson, the husband of one dancing grandmother who died, Virginia Sorenson, gave an emotional speech at the hearing, calling Brooks a “very, very evil animal.”

One of victim Lee Owens’ sons, who previously yelled obscenities at Brooks, said, “I can only hope they lock you somewhere deep enough for the rats to chew your fingers at night.”

In the course of the trial, prosecutors uncovered how on November 21, Brooks deliberately drove his SUV through police barricades and into crowds participating in the annual parade in the city of Waukesha, about 15 miles west of downtown Milwaukee.

He was out on bail on domestic violence charges at the time of the attack and was arrested near the crime scene.

Brooks has since been in custody and had pleaded not guilty to the charges, announcing in court that his “conscience was clear” and suggesting the death was “God’s will,” even as he wiped away a tear.

Brooks had elected to represent himself at his trial, but his repeated interruptions, outbursts, and other erratic behavior eventually led Judge Jennifer Dorow to remove him from the courtroom, later admitting she feared him.

He has taken his shirt off in a courtroom and also made a laminated paper that read “objection,” which he revealed after the judge cut off his microphone.

He had tried to argue in court that his SUV had been recalled due to a throttle malfunction, saying he had no intention of hurting anyone and noting that he honked his horn as he drove through the crowd.

When District Attorney Sue Opper objected, noting that a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle inspector had testified earlier in the trial that the vehicle was in good working order, including the brakes, he suggested that the driver may have panicked.

He didn’t fully acknowledge he was the driver at the time, but said that at night, when he’s alone in his cell, he often asks how “this” happened.

Yet, he said, he never questioned whether “this” was intentional, saying he knew it wasn’t. He didn’t explain what he was referring to by using the word ‘this’.