ORLANDO - There was no single blow, stomp, or strike to Robert Champion's bruised and battered body that killed him as he was pummeled by fellow Florida A&M University marching band members during a hazing ritual aboard a charter bus last fall.
Instead, his death was caused by multiple blows from many individuals. That inability to pinpoint which blow ultimately caused the 26-year-old drum major's death led authorities to charge 13 defendants Wednesday with hazing rather than more serious counts of manslaughter or second-degree murder.
"His death is not linked to one sole strike but it is attributed to multiple blows,'' said State Attorney Lawson Lamar at a news conference announcing the charges.
Champion's mother, Pam, said Thursday that the only way to stop hazing in the university's marching band is to disband the program until the root of the hazing problem is addressed. "You've got to clean house,'' she said in Atlanta.
Champion's father, Robert Champion Sr., added: "There are 400 other students who are also in the band, and the same thing can happen to them.''
Some legal analysts said they believe Lamar could have filed manslaughter, or even second-degree murder counts, against the participants who conducted the hazing after the university marching band had performed at a football game against its rival school.
"The prosecutor in this case had an opportunity to do something, to send a stronger message, a deserved message based on the conduct,'' said Tamara Lave, a University of Miami law professor. "And the prosecutor didn't.''
Lamar said his office didn't have the evidence to bring more serious charges.
"The testimony obtained to date does not support a charge of murder, in that it does not contain the elements of murder,'' he said. "We can prove participation in hazing and a death. We do not have a blow or a shot or a knife thrust that killed Mr. Champion. It is an aggregation of things which exactly fit the Florida statute as written by the Legislature.''
Champion's family and their attorney said they were extremely disappointed that murder charges were not filed.
"I was not happy with felony hazing charges,'' Pam Champion said. "That word, hazing, just doesn't fit it.''
Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Michael Grieco said Lamar's decision not to file the more serious charges may have been influenced by the Casey Anthony trial.
Lamar's office charged the Florida mother with first-degree murder for her daughter's death even though the medical examiner could not conclusively show how she died. A jury later acquitted Anthony of murder.
Eleven defendants were charged with hazing resulting in death, a felony, and misdemeanor offenses that all together could bring nearly six years in prison. Two others face misdemeanor charges.
Some of the defendants were in custody. Caleb Jackson, 23, and Rikki Wills, 24, were arrested Wednesday in Leon County. Wills left jail Wednesday night after posting a $15,000 bond.
Brian Jones surrendered Wednesday night in Hillsborough County. He was released after posting a $15,000 bond. His attorney, Alisia Adamson, said he would plead not guilty.
A Leon Count judge, however, refused Thursday to allow Jackson leave jail because he was already on probation for a charge of battery.