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Over the weekend, our media outlet was among the first in the nation to report on the sad saga of Trent Lehrkamp of Saint Simons Island, Georgia.
We were also the first to call what happened to Lehrkamp what it was: Torture.
Not “bullying.” Not “hazing.” Torture.
To recap: On March 21, 2023, Lehrkamp’s attackers recorded videos and posted photos to social media as they allegedly lured him to a home, bound him with duct tape, spray painted him, (including his face and eyes) urinated on him, defecated on him, waterboarded him, poured liquor down his throat and forced him to ingest drugs.
(Click to View)
When he was dumped off at the emergency room at Southeast Georgia medical center at approximately 8:30 p.m. EST that evening, Lehrkamp was drawing only six breaths per minute and his blood alcohol level was a staggering .464 – nearly six times Georgia’s legal limit of .08. He was placed on a ventilator and was in the hospital’s intensive care unit for over a week.
The alleged perpetrators of the torture are said to be students at Glynn Academy, a public school in Brunswick. Lehrkamp graduated from Glynn Academy in May of 2022.
School officials acknowledged that some of the perpetrators were “current students,” according to local radio station WGIG 98.7.
The worst part of this story? This wasn’t the first time Lehrkamp was assaulted by these goons.
According to statements given to law enforcement by his father, Mark Lehrkamp, “this was not the first time (Trent Lehrkamp) had gone to the house (where he was abused) and returned hurt.”
On March 17, 2023, Lehrkamp “came home covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk and spray paint” and “seemed high or drunk,” according to his father. Mark Lehrkamp also told authorities he “had to take Trenton to the emergency room because he came home with a severe laceration about his left eye that required stitches.”
Mark Lehrkamp and other family members are said to be “cooperating with the investigation.” They are also raising significant money and receiving other gifts online from well-wishers in the aftermath of the national notoriety this case has attracted.
More on that in a moment …
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More than a week after the March 21 attack, no arrests have been made by agents of the Glynn County police department – the agency leading the investigation. In fact, Glynn County did not issue a statement about what happened to Lehrkamp until Sunday morning – five days after he was hospitalized.
Police did not address the matter until late that evening, stating that they had collected evidence in connection with the case and interviewed “several juveniles associated with the incident” as well as Lehrkamp himself.
On Tuesday afternoon, Fox News reporter Rebecca Rosenberg reported that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had joined the criminal inquiry. Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) are also assisting the investigation.
When will charges be filed?
According to a news release from the office of Brunswick district attorney Keith Higgins – who is ultimately responsible for charging decisions made in this case – his 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,” the release noted, asking the public for patience so the investigation could “take its due course.”
(Click to View)
“There is much misinformation 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 statement continued.
Higgins said his office would not reach a determination on charges against Lehrkamp’s attackers “until we know all of the facts and we can determine what can be proven by admissible evidence in a court of law.”
Once a decision is made regarding prosecution, Higgins’ office vowed to announce it publicly and “explain the factual and legal basis for the chosen course of action.” The release also promised to post a “redacted copy of the investigative case file” on its website.
Let’s hope investigators and prosecutors live up to these assurances, because allegations are already flying in Brunswick over preferential treatment for the suspects in this case. As this news outlet previously reported, several of the individuals alleged to have participated in the abduction and torture of Lehrkamp hail from prominent local families. In fact, one of the families whose teenager was reportedly involved is affiliated with the local newspaper which first reported on the latest incident – and attempted to classify it as “hazing.”
As for Trent Lehrkamp’s own family situation, it’s an absolute disaster. His mother, Jaymie Lehrkamp, passed away in March of 2021 at the age of 43. Meanwhile his father, Mark Lehrkamp, left the home at 255 Tennessee Avenue in Saint Simons Island where he previously resided with Trent and his siblings a few months later.
Mark Lehrkamp left the Tennessee Avenue residence in December 2021 to move in with his current girlfriend, Jamie Lee Linna (a.k.a. Jamie Burriss).
The Tennessee Avenue home was owned by Frankie Lynn Ross, Jaymie’s mother. Ross died in September of 2021 – seven months after her daughter died. At the time of Ross’ death, she was reportedly investigating the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death – which she deemed to be suspicious.
Mark Lehrkamp, incidentally, is the administrator of his late mother-in-law’s estate – including the Tennessee Avenue property where his son has lived alone for the past eight months.
(Click to View)
While Ross owned the Tennessee Avenue home at the time of her death, she did not live there. She resided instead at a nearby condominium in the hopes of giving the Lehrkamp family a place to stay while they got on their feet.
Trent Lehrkamp’s 16-year-old sister reportedly lived with him at the Tennessee Avenue address until August 2022 – at which point she left the residence to live with her father and his new girlfriend. During the time Trent and his younger sister lived together, his father reportedly installed a lock on a pantry cabinet to keep Trent from consuming food intended for her, a source familiar with the situation said.
“Trent was eating all the food,” the source told me. “He put a lock on it so Trent wouldn’t eat it.”
Since he turned eighteen, Trent Lehrkamp – whom some have suggested has an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder – has reportedly been responsible for providing his own food and clothing. He was been working minimum wage jobs at Chick-fil-A and at a local supermarket in the hopes of meeting these obligations, sources familiar with his employment history have told this news outlet.
“He lost his mother, his grandmother and was abandoned by his family,” a source close to the case told me. “Everyone left him.”
Count on this news outlet to keep our readers up to speed on the latest developments in this case …
UPDATE: As this story was going to press, the Glynn County police department issued the following statement from its interim chief regarding the case …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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17 comments
I think BAC measured .464
Please don’t let up on this story. Please keep shining the light.
This is such a joke, his father put a lock on his pantry door. So funny I have been there and have never seen such a thing or heard such a thing from Trent. Get the true facts. How shameful to turn what has happened on his family As if they aren’t going through enough let’s dig that knife deeper. How horrible. His Dad has provided for Trent and I have seen it first hand, Trent does holidays, vacations, dinners at the girlfriends house. Wow Don’t forget Trent was a 19 year old just S my children were even younger when they graduated and they chose to be on their own just as Trent wanted to be, but his Dad was also there to help. No one should have to defend the self’s but I will defend them. And how funny just a couple days before this incident I was over talking with Trent and he sure talked proudly of his Dad. Never has he been left out. I can’t believe these very few who want attention as if they don’t have anything better to do with their lives than to try to dig around in other peoples business and give out wrong information.
Lisa, thank you for sticking up for this family. My God, you don’t kick em when they’re down. Shame on all you who have to start rumors. What was done to this young man, no matter his age, is horrific. Where has the love for life gone?
Carry on FitsNews. I have found your ongoing news stories to be informative and transparent. At the very least, there was dysfunction in Trent’s life. I pray he has a safe and healthy recovery.
Carry on FitsNews. I have found your ongoing news stories to be informative and transparent. At the very least, there was dysfunction in Trent’s life. I pray he has a safe and healthy recovery.
Letting a kid who has autism live on their own is already making your family look bad.
The father abandoned his son for his girlfriend and it takes an incident like this for everyone to suddenly care is disgusting!
Where were any of you to help him!?!? Do you not think leaving a boy with untreated austism is a bad thing and a bad look ffs?!??!
There are just as many stories about murder and mayem as there are of corruption in South Carolina’s General Assembly only we don’t read about the General Assembly, here, anymore.
I hope justice is being served here it should be a minimum 40 years prison sentence for such despicable barbaric actions
Aren’t you the girlfriend’s sister? Handling Trent’s Go Fund Me?
Don’t let his dad get that money that poor boy is left by him self shame on him some how this poor young man needs some kind of care giver who dose that leave a child by him self with autism just saying I hope and pray you get better son.?????
Is he going to survive, who raised these animals? Shame on YOU. God saw it all.
Did i not read tht this young man suffers from a type of autism? Where is his family to protect him from the scum of the earth? What more evidence do u need? U hv the videos. What does his eating habits hv to do with the horrendous treatment he received from the sick monsters tht mistreated him? Law enforcement it is your job to serve and protect. Dont let this young man down. Especially one whose disabilities make him more vulnerable. Shame on all those did turned a blind eye on this young man. Sending prayers up asking God and his angels to wrap their love and protection around him.
Did i not read that this poor soul has autism? Where is his family to take care and protect him? Tht is the ultimate responsibility of the parent(s). Law enforcement how much evidence do u need? U hv the videos with the scum bags committing the crimes. Ur job is to serve and protect. Dont fail this young man. Show your zero tolerance for this kind of behavior no matter who you are related to. No one is above the law. Stay on point…how much this young man eats has nothing to do with the crime tht was committed against him. I pray tht God sends angels to wrap their wings around him. Tht he will forever be protected against the evil he has lived thru. shame on those tht failed him.
My concern is for Trent. A hateful mud slinging neighbor gossiping and lying about the family is not a credible news source. What a cruel attack to help the torturers get away with their crimes. Focus on those hurt Trent not those who love and support him. Libelous tabloid.
What a terrible family to come from. To have a family that leaves you alone while you’re dealing with bullies is horrendous. Barely any support at school and home.
That poor boy.
Now I’ve heard there’s a gofundme being ran by the girlfriend’s sister, call me skeptical that any of that money is going to go to Trent.
Investigate the mother’s death … STRONGLY suspect criminality involved in her death. The father … something is NOT right, and there are still two minor children in his care. Trent is goi g to need a lot of support to have even a small hope of moving beyond this. Those responsible are very sick and a danger to society. A lot is unknown here … WHY?