There has been a court filing in the case against four former Vanderbilt University football players charged with rape seeking text messages from coaches. According to Tennessean:
California-based defense attorneys for former player Brandon Vandenburg said in their motion that a “large amount” of evidence has not been provided to them by Davidson County authorities as it should have been under the rules of discovery in criminal cases.
The attorneys have been reviewing evidence provided on 57 CDs and DVDs, but said some discs were defective and that they have not gotten other items, including statements by witnesses, evidence on other discs, “text messages from witnesses and coaches,” and other records.
Vanderbilt vice chancellor Beth Fortune had this to say about the matter via email:
“The issues raised by the latest court filing are a matter for the court to determine,” she wrote. “Vanderbilt has no role.”
This whole case has always been pretty strange. The biggest unanswered question surronding the case has been what role the Vanderbilt coaches played in this if any and what they knew. This is the first big step in answering that question.
As always we will keep you updated as more information comes out.