Gadsden, USA - Evidence is expected to be presented in March to an Etowah County grand jury in the case of a 20-year-old man who claimed to police he was a vampire.
Evan Francis Brown, 20, is charged with second-degree assault after he used a fork or a spoon to burn a “V” into a 17-year-old's forehead.
Detectives said Brown has told them his religious belief is Satanism and he is known by the nickname “Vamp.”
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday, but Brown's attorney previously met with an assistant district attorney to review evidence and Brown's attorney waived the preliminary hearing, District Attorney Jimmie Harp said.
If a preliminary hearing is waived, the case then is set to go to grand jury, Harp said.
“That in no way means an attorney believes there is evidence against a client,” Harp said. “It's just part of trial strategy.”
Brown was arrested in December after an incident a few months earlier in which he allegedly tricked a 17-year-old by telling him they were playing a game. The 17-year-old was tied up, then the “V” was burned into his forehead. Detectives said the teenager had cigarette burns on his face and arms and had been beaten. Brown allegedly left him tied up for about an hour. Someone later took the teenager to a hospital emergency room, where personnel contacted police.
Detectives went to the Rosewood Lane home where Brown apparently was living and where the assault occurred. Hooks said the house was rented in the name of a girl, but several people — mostly other teenagers — were living there. It appeared that everyone had left the house and nobody was living there by the time police went in a few days later.
Detectives said there were what appeared to be Satanic symbols spray painted on the walls, along with the words “The Homeless Crew” and the letters “THC.” Those symbols and words also have been seen at other locations in the Gadsden area.