Petition to reopen investigation into Brendan Santo's death has over 5,000 signatures

EAST LANSING, Michigan. – A petition to reopen the investigation into the death of Brendan Santo has more than 5,000 signatures.

Local 4 spoke to a private investigator last week and received new information that raises questions about the case.

Santo, 18, disappeared from the campus of Michigan State University over the weekend of October 29, 2021. He was a freshman at Grand Valley State who came to campus to visit friends.

He was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall shortly before midnight and walking near Michigan Avenue and Beal Street. He disappeared and his body was found 84 days later in the Red Cedar River.

Why are there new updates in this case?

The person who found Santos' body was private investigator Ryan Robison.

Robison took a personal interest in the case and spoke with Santos' father for five hours.

Robison said he began searching for Santo on Jan. 6. After about two weeks, he noticed a spot in the river where several pumpkins had accumulated.

He took some underwater photos in the area and noticed Santos' very distinctive shoes.

Michigan State University police officially took over the investigation and determined that Santo had drowned, but Robison never stopped investigating the case.

He came to us to share this new information and believes the case should be reopened.

“From the beginning, there was suspicion that he drowned or not,” said Karen Drew.

“I would say both the father and I were affected,” Robison said.

Here are the new pieces of evidence:

No water in lungs or stomach

Santo's autopsy ruled his death as drowning, but Robison was able to provide documentation showing there was no water in his lungs or stomach.

Oakland County Chief Coroner Ljubisa J. Dragovic said the case is a “puzzle” and far from solved.

We brought him a copy of the autopsy so he could look at it again.

“What about the lungs: If you look at the report, it doesn't mention that there was water in the lungs, but he drowned,” Karen said.

“Not everyone who is underwater and found underwater has drowned,” Dragovic said. “A person can be dead before they are put in the water.”

Local 4 has learned that no X-ray was performed on Santos' body. Dragovic said an X-ray must always be performed before determining drowning as the cause of death.

“Are you worried?” asked Karen.

“This is of course worrying, and a crime cannot be ruled out with certainty,” said Dragovic.

Mobile ping

There are also big questions about when Santos' cellphone was last used.

According to police, his cell phone last signaled at 12:09 a.m. and then died. The theory is that he fell into the water sometime after midnight and the phone was not used after that.

“There are text messages saying his battery is dead,” said digital forensics expert Scott Bailey. “The last ping or connection to a cell tower was at 12:09 p.m.”

It is difficult to extract much information from the police reports because they are heavily redacted in connection with this drowning case.

But we learned something that was never made public or told to Santos' parents.

At 2:39 a.m. – a full two and a half hours later – Santos’ phone beeped again.

“At 2:39 a.m. the phone was turned back on,” Bailey said.

“It just wouldn’t turn on by itself?” asked Karen.

“It wouldn’t turn itself on,” Bailey said.

“So someone had to press it,” Karen said.

“I had to press the button and there was still enough power left to start what's called the iBoot process and boot up the phone,” Bailey said.

Who turned on Santos' phone? Could this mean that he was alive for another two and a half hours, the duration of which is unknown?

Police are not releasing the location of the ping, but some witnesses who spoke with Robison located Santo on North Campus around 2 a.m.

Another cell phone found

According to the police report, a Motorola cell phone was also found in the area where Santo was last seen.

Michigan State University police did not retain the phone for possible testing. They turned it in to the Lost and Found office.

“You’re an investigator – what would you have done with that phone?” asked Karen.

“They turned it over to the Lost and Found,” Robison said. “I wouldn't have done that. I would have bagged it and kept it as evidence.”

The MSUPD case report states: “The Motorola found has nothing to do with this investigation and was turned over to the MSUPD Police Department as a lost and found item.”

Details of the petition

Robison said he believes the case should be reopened.

“The case needs to be reviewed, and I hope and pray – and so does the family – that the Michigan State Police will reopen it,” Robison said.

A petition on Change.org was published a week ago on September 10, 2024. As of Tuesday morning, it had 5,331 signatures. They have reached their original goal of 5,000, but are hoping for more.

You can view the petition here.

Click here to view a post about the petition from Robison's wife, Katie Robison.

Statement from MSU Police

The MSU Police Department sent us the following statement:

I received your inquiry regarding the Brendan Santon case. I appreciate you informing us of your upcoming story and giving us the opportunity to comment. I apologize for the delayed response.

Some of your questions may be best directed to the Ingham County District Attorney or the Office of the Medical Examiner. And of course, MSU cannot comment on any decisions that the Michigan State Police (the State of Michigan, not MSU) would make.

What happened to Brendan Santo is deeply tragic and our thoughts are with the Santo family.

The investigation into Brendan's death was thorough and comprehensive and involved a multi-agency task force, including the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety, FBI, and Michigan State Police. Investigators and subject matter experts reviewed complex cellular and GPS data and were also involved in reviewing other aspects of the investigation. The results of the comprehensive investigation were presented to the Ingham County District Attorney in June 2022, who determined that no criminal activity was involved in this tragic event.

The autopsy was performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner and Sparrow Forensic Pathology independent of the Task Force investigation.

No new evidence has been presented suggesting the possibility of criminal activity.

To answer some of your questions:

When Mr. Santo was found and recovered, he was wearing the same t-shirt he was wearing when he was last seen before he disappeared. His cell phone was found on him when he was recovered. The toxicology report revealed that Mr. Santo had a blood ethanol concentration of 0.22%.

The safety of our entire MSU campus community is our top priority. Since that unfortunate incident in fall 2021, MSU and the Department of Police and Public Safety have implemented additional safety measures on campus. These improvements include permanent fencing around the Red Cedar River near the Kellogg Center, Michigan Avenue and Beal Street entrances to improve pedestrian safety, as well as additional security cameras and improved lighting throughout campus. Following the on-campus shooting in February 2023, other additional safety elements were added, including door locks on classrooms and enhanced emergency alarm notifications on campus.

Michigan State University Police Department