A teen who was ‘tortured, humiliated and assaulted’ in a horrifying attack has spoken for the first time since the incident.
Trent Lehrkamp, 19, from Brunswick, Georgia, was left fighting for his life after attending a party where he was put through a vile ritual which saw him allegedly being covered in spray paint, soaked in urine and forced to drink a dangerous amount of alcohol. You can listen to his first statement since the incident here:
The teen was then dropped off at the emergency department on March 21, where he was found to only be breathing six times per minute and had to be put onto a ventilator in intensive care.
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In an update on Friday March 31, the teen’s family said he was ‘stable’ but that he would become ‘very panicked and anxious when awake’ following the ordeal, which took place in a wealthy gated community on Saint Simons Island.
In a statement, the family said: "The anguish he suffered, it’s sure to be a long recovery…emotionally and mentally as well.
"He is stable, but still in the ICU recovering and fighting through some lung infection from the aspiration.”
Now, Lehrkamp has spoken publicly for the first time, telling WSAV that he’s doing ‘well’ but admited that recovery won’t be fast.
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He said via a voicemail: “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.”
He added: “But justice will be served.”
Lehrkamp’s family said the teen had believed that the suspects thought to be involved - who were a couple of years younger than him - had been his friends.
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However, his father Mark said the teen had been involved in several other incidents after hanging out with the same group, telling police that his son ‘never returns home normal’.
He recalled one night when his son had come home covered in ‘WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint’ after spending time with the same group.
According to a police report: “Mark stated that Trenton seemed high or drunk and two weeks prior Mark had to take Trenton to the emergency room because he came home with a severe laceration above his left eye that required stitches.”
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The investigation is ongoing.
Lehrkamp’s family have moved him out of the state while he continues his recovery - they also set up a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of treatment. You can donate here.
Claire Reid