Ryan Kohnke, a United States Army veteran from Waukesha, Wisconsin, gave horrific details Saturday night of last Sunday’s heinous Christmas parade incident that left his 11-year-old niece critically wounded.
Kohnke, who fought in Iraq, spoke on “Justice with Judge Jeanine” and described the minutes leading up to little Jessalyn Torres being injured and laying on the ground as her mother and family members waited frantically for medical treatment.
Then Kohnke informed Judge Jeanine Pirro of the destiny he thought awaited defendant Darrell Brooks, who is charged with deliberate murder and other offenses in connection with the disaster, which claimed at least six lives and wounded more than 60.
Kohnke said that he was there at Brooks’ bail hearing last week.
He said that listening to him weep when the court indicated that charges struck him as self-centered. He, however, hopes he spends the remainder of his years in prison, in isolation, since he doubts he’ll ever face the general population [inside prison] for fear of what they may believe will happen to him.
He further said that if Brooks is convicted of deliberate murder and other charges, he hopes he has ample time to sit in there and reflect on how he has badly affected individuals in this town for the rest of their lives.
Earlier in Saturday’s program, Kohnke informed Judge Jeanine that Jessalyn had spent the night with her family in preparation for her involvement in the Waukesha Xtreme Dance Team’s parade appearance last Sunday.
Kohnke said that he and his family were anticipating seeing Jessalyn in the procession.
Kohnke said that it’s a significant community event that kicks off the Christmas season, so everyone was ecstatic to begin.
Judge Pirro next questioned Kohnke about the moment he sensed everything had gone terribly wrong.
He said that he was aware that his sister’s family had just passed by, and when he saw that they had proceeded down the parade path, he felt fearful for their safety.
Judge Jeanine seemed to hang on every word Kohnke said, riveted by the terrible facts, which contrasted dramatically with the family images on the screen, which showed a joyful Jessalyn posing with her family members and friends before the day turned sad.
