BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Tuesday marked one week since a teen was dropped off at a hospital barely breathing and a lethal blood alcohol level following a party on St. Simons Island.
Trent Lehrkamp is still in the hospital, but his best friend told First Coast News he's been moved out of the ICU and onto the next stage in his treatment.
While he works on recovering, police are working on piecing all of this together, as they believe he's been through this kind of treatment more than once.
Documents from Glynn County Police offer a timeline of events leading up to last Tuesday.
In early March, police report Lehrkamp needed stitches for a cut over his left eye which his father says he received while hanging out with the same group of teenagers.
On March 17, his father says he came home covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk and spray paint.
Four days later, three teens drove Lehrkamp to the hospital, barely breathing, and left before police arrived. His blood alcohol level was .464.
"I'm just glad he survived from this," said Lehrkamp's best friend. "He was close. He could've gotten killed. I hope those kids, they get charged."
Over the past week, police have identified all the teens in the video, interviewed Lehrkamp and others and gotten a search warrant for the house where the party was held.
They have not announced any arrests.
Glynn County Police stated in a press release there will a media briefing on Wednesday to "provide an update on the current investigation of an incident that occurred on St. Simons Island on March 21."
During Monday night's vigil, a Brunswick county commissioner said more information is coming.
"Bringing our county together, and healing our county, and getting answers," said Glynn County Commissioner Bo Clark. "That's what people want, and that's what we're going to get in the coming days."
More than $70,000 has been raised to cover Lehrkamp's medical bills.
His best friend says they also just set up a PO Box to send cards with words of support to.
The address for that PO Box is:
- Trent Lehrkamp
- PO Box 20111
- St. Simons Island, GA 31522
A statement from The District Attorney's Office says that this is still a very active investigation and asks the public to not assume that social media posts are the actual facts of the case.
The DA's office says that misinformation has been rampant online and that the office is committed to finding the whole truth regarding what happened to Lehrkamp.
Statement from The District Attorney's Office:
The District Attorney's Office is aware of the incidents that occurred with regard to Trent Lehrkamp. We have met with the law enforcement agencies that are investigating the matter, and we continue to communicate with them as they are working to gather all the available facts and evidence. As the facts become known, we are researching criminal statutes and procedures, so we can determine what laws are applicable to the facts,
Our objective is the discovery of the truth and the proper application of the law to those facts. This requires a thorough and complete investigation by law enforcement that does not merely rely upon what is posted on social media. This takes time.
As the investigation proceeds, the District Attorney's Office will continue to confer with law enforcement to monitor the status of the investigation and provide legal advice. Once a complete and thorough investigation has concluded, my office will review all the evidence and determine the appropriate course of action. We will not make a decision until we know all of the facts, and we can determine what can be proven by admissible in court of law.
After the District's Attorney's Office decides what action should be taken, we will publically announce our decision and explain the factual and legal basis for the chosen course of action. At the appropriate time, a redacted copy of the investigative case file will be posted on our website and brunswickda.org under the tab for "Special-Interest Cases" so the public can review the facts for themselves.
While we understand the public interest in this case, we urge everyone to be patient and allow the investigation to take its due course. There is much information about the matter on social media, and we ask you to not assume that social media posts are the actual facts of the case.
The District Attorney’s Office pledges to be as transparent as possible as this case moves through our judicial system.