Champion's Death Ruled a Homicide
WHITFIELD: In less than two hours, a Florida state attorney general is expected to announce criminal charges in the suspected hazing death of Florida A&M; drum major Robert Champion. The 26-year- old student was a member of the university's famed marching band. He died after being beaten on a band bus following a football game in November. George Howell has done extensive reporting on this story for us. George, how many people are expected to be charged and how serious will these charges be?</s>GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question at this hour. We know -- we do know, confirmed, that at least several people will be charged in this case. How many people at this point? We will learn at 2:00 p.m. But again, this happened back in November -- November 19th of last year. Robert Champion, the 26-year-old, was on the bus with several other band members when according to the medical examiner's office, he was beaten so severely to the back, to the arms, and to the chest that he went into shock, Fredricka, and he died from that beating. And at this point, there are many questions. You know, obviously, how many people will charged? But also, what is the range of the charges? We know that hazing in the state of Florida, it is a felony. Could this also be manslaughter? Could it also be murder? Those are the questions that we will learn more about at 2:00 p.m. And just a few months ago, I spoke to HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks about this case, an investigator himself. I wanted to find out what do prosecutors look into in a case like this? Here's what he had to say.</s>HOWELL: How do you determine the level of culpability? Who did what?</s>MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's a great question. And as a law enforcement officer, I want to know who were the ones delivering the blows, the serious blows? Was there one person who delivered the most blows that may have caused his death? We don't know. Were there other people who might not have been involved at all?</s>HOWELL: The Champion family has been waiting for the last 5 1/2 months for this day, for this moment to learn who is involved in the death of their son. So, again, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we should hear more prosecutors on what they're planning.</s>WHITFIELD: It's taken a long time. Is this any indicator it may be a difficult case to prosecute, especially since many of the witnesses may ultimately be defendants as well, unless there are some plea deals?</s>HOWELL: That is certainly a possibility. And, as you heard what Mike Brooks had to say just a minute ago, also the number of people who were on that bus. Obviously, you have to speak to everyone. You have to find out who did what on the bus, and certainly that has taken some time. But when you talk to the Champions, again, their attorney conducted a civil lawsuit, a civil lawsuit has been filed. They spoke to people, and in their civil lawsuit, they point the finger at the bus driver, which is very interesting. They say the bus driver knew what was happening all along and, in fact, they allege that hazing like this happened on the bus routinely when the band traveled around. But, again, whether the bus driver is involved in this, again, we have yet to see. We should learn more at 2:00 p.m. Fredricka, I also want to point out another story that just came to light. The University of Florida, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, has been put on interim suspension by the university, since people were charged with hazing. This is another hazing-related case, Fredricka, just coming to light today. We learned it from one of our CNN affiliates. But, again, obviously schools are cracking down on hazing, and today we're seeing law enforcement step in on this case.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. George Howell -- thanks so much for the update on both of those stories. Appreciate that. All right. Here is a question for you: do you have your money ready? There are reports that Facebook has set a date for its initial public offering. But will it be a good investment?