ORLANDO, Fla. — More than 1,500 pages of evidence in the investigation into the death of Robert Champion were released by the Florida District Attorney's Office Wednesday morning.
Champion was beaten to death on a charter bus while on a trip to Orlando with Florida A&M University in November. Eleven band members have been charged with felony hazing in his death.
Champion's autopsy report listed his cause of death as a homicide as the result of repeated blows to his body.
In a deposition included in the release, defendant Jonathan Boyce said Champion had asked throughout the season to go through the hazing ritual. Boyce said it was considered a sign of respect within the band to survive the ritual.
"It's a respect thing, you know," Boyce told detectives. "Well, he was wanting to do it all ... all season."
Champions' parents have said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing in the band. They addressed the new evidence in a news conference shortly after noon.
"Doesn't sound like my son at all," Champion's mother said.
The family's lawyer, Christopher Chestnut, said all of the defendants have lied throughout the investigation, "including the administration."
"These charges can be enhanced and should be. This is murder," Chestnut said.
Depositions offered clues to the defenses the defendants will use.
Defendant Aaron Golson denied getting on the bus where the hazing took place. He said he got a ride back from the game with a friend.
"I don't know anything that happened with Robert," Golson said.
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Golson also told detectives that Champion wasn't into the hazing rituals.
"Man, I'm shock(ed) if that happens," Golson said when told that Champion was on the bus for hazing.
Another defendant, Caleb Jackson, at first told detectives that he wasn't on the bus when Champion was beaten but then changed his story when he was told that hotel video surveillance showed him getting off the bus. At the time of Champion's death, Jackson was on probation for a felony battery charge.
"I love Robert like a brother, more than ya'll, any, everybody in this band loves this man like a brother, you know what I'm saying," Jackson said.
Champion, 26, attended Southwest DeKalb High School.
FAMU's famed band, the Marching 100, has been suspended through the 2012-2013 school year.
Champion's family has sued the company that owned the bus where the beating took place.
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WSBTV
