University Of Delaware Students Protest After Student Viciously Attacked By Ex-Boyfriend, Police Say
NEWARK, Del. (CBS) -- Outrage on the campus of the University of Delaware. Students are protesting Wednesday after a female student was viciously attacked allegedly by her ex-boyfriend last Friday.
Police say the victim was choked, spray painted and thrown down a flight of stairs.
Students at the University of Delaware are stunned to hear the details of that brutal attack. Twenty-year-old Brandon Freyre, of Maryland, is charged with assault, kidnapping and strangulation.
Court paperwork reveals the victim told police Freyre, her ex-boyfriend, was mad she went to a different fraternity's party and not his. She says he trapped her in the room by placing a chair near the door and at one point claimed he was going to kill her so she couldn't tell police and ruin his life.
Officers say Freyre sprayed the woman in the eyes with spray paint, choked her unconscious, threatened to kill her, and held her captive for hours. Investigators say Freyre's roommates were home at the time.
The victim was able to escape the apartment and called 911, police say, after being thrown down a flight of stairs.
Students held a march Monday and another Tuesday to show support for the brutalized victim.
"There shouldn't be any instances like this anymore," sophomore Maya Weissy said.
"Domestic violence and just in general gender-based violence is such an issue at universities all across the country. So even though it was off campus, it did occur between two University of Delaware students," protest organizer Kiera Spann said.
Students' message was loud and clear along Main Street.
"We want to stop the violence on campus. It's completely unacceptable," student Amelia Meldrum said.
Hundreds showed up to voice their concerns on campus, showing they stand with the victim of the brutal attack.
"I am just here for the solidarity. Change really needs to happen at the university," student Alexa Blasiak said.
"I came out here today because first and foremost I have a lot of friends that are women but more than anything male representation at a rally like this is really important," student Miles Evans said.
The University of Delaware suspended Freyre and banned him from campus Friday, just hours after the alleged attack. He could be expelled if convicted of the charges.
But some also believe the university could be doing more.
"There has to be constant education on that campus around healthy relationships and looking for signs of unhealthy relationships," said Sue Ryan with the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Reports say Freyre is no longer in jail after making bail Wednesday afternoon.
The university says Freyre was a member of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity but has since had his membership revoked.
In the meantime, students say that's not enough, and they released a list of demands to the university highlighting more transparency and constant domestic violence education.
Vice President for Student Life Jose-Louis Rivera says student safety is their top priority and wants to continue the communication across campus.
"Come join us in the fight against gender-based violence. I mean, I think we're all committed to this -- obviously, students are committed to this, we're committed to this -- and we need to connect and engage around this so that we can actually bring some change," Rivera said.
"We would love to sit down, have a conversation and figure out what we can do as a community to make this safer for our students and for the community," Spann said.
CBS3's Matt Petrillo and Kerri Corrado contributed to this report.