On March 21, Trent Lehrkamp – a 19-year-old who lives in Georgia – was dropped off at a local hospital by a group of teenagers after they tortured him in an extremely graphic and horrific way. The events allegedly occurred at a party, where nine suspects forced Lehrkamp to drink alcohol and use drugs.
By the time the 19-year-old made it to the hospital, his blood alcohol level was more than six times the legal limit – he was also covered in urine and spray paint. It didn’t take long for a photo to emerge, which showed the victim bound to a chair as a group of teens doused him with various objects and substances.
Georgia teen Trent Lehrkamp speaks out after hazing incident left him in ICU https://t.co/sdpDt6NUDl pic.twitter.com/gCuP0PIRBM
— New York Post (@nypost) April 3, 2023
The suspects have since been identified by authorities, who have revealed that nothing is off the table when it comes to charges – though no one has been charged yet. “In our society, we should have zero tolerance for bullying and the mistreatment of others,” said Glynn County Police Chief O’Neal Jackson.
Earlier this week, Trent Lehrkamp – who spent nearly a week on a ventilator as he could barely breathe on his own – made his first comments since being dropped off at the hospital. He wants everyone to know that he is doing better and that justice will be served, though it will take a while before he recovers.
EXCLUSIVE: A message from Trent Lehrkamp himself as he continues his recovery, now at an out of state facility. “Justice will be served.” @wsav #TrentLehrkamp #JusticeForTrent pic.twitter.com/ehD6IXAjT3
— Brett Buffington (@BrettWSAV) April 2, 2023
“I’m alive and doing well. Just know it’s going to be a long time for me to get over this, through the trauma, but one day hopefully within the next few months or so, I might be back. Justice will be served,” Lehrkamp told a local news outlet, WSAV. He continues to recover physically and mentally in an out-of-state facility.
In the days following the incident, Trent’s father opened up to investigators and revealed this isn’t the first time his son has been bullied. He spoke about numerous occasions where Trent had returned home after a night at his friend’s house injured – despite being ‘perfectly fine’ before heading to his friends’ house.
This is Edward Rooker Hobby – in the photo from Snapchat on the left, his mug shot from last November on the right. In a police incident report from four months ago, his mother told police he had a problem with drinking. Hobby is 17-years-old. @WSAV #TrentLehrkamp pic.twitter.com/JgDqYTeJ7y
— Brett Buffington (@BrettWSAV) March 28, 2023
There was one occasion, in particular, when Trent returned home covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint. The only reason Trent would go to the suspect’s home was that he didn’t have any other friends and thought the suspects cared for him and accepted him – they clearly didn’t.
GoFundMe Created for Trent Lehrkamp
On March 26, roughly five days after Trent Lehrkamp was dropped off at the hospital, a woman by the name of Erika Keller (relation to Trent is unknown) started a GoFundMe account titled ‘Justice for Trent.’ Over the past two weeks, the account has surpassed $125,000 across more than 3,000 donations.
“I’m sharing this to help support Trent’s family and the medical bills that will likely cripple them as a result of the tragic events that happened to Trent. I’m also sharing to help bring awareness to the situation, as it has now been five days, and still little has been done to bring justice for Trent and his family,” she wrote.
On April 2, Erika posted an update from Trent himself. She said he wants to thank everyone for their continued support and well wishes – adding that he’s alive and well. While he has a long road ahead of him as he continues recovery, he hopes to one day be back to normalcy. He knows justice will be served.
“The family has been spending all their time to help Trent become settled at an out-of-state facility where he will be receiving the absolute best care possible — mentally, physically, medically, and emotionally. He will be receiving a whole body recovery for as long as he needs,” she added in the much-needed update.
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Erika also shared several photos of Trent being reunited with his family – which were full of hugs and smiles, including from Trent. The GoFundMe account, which started with a goal of $40,000, has more than tripled its goal as donations continue to pour in. If you’d like to help, the page is still up and running.