Two Chi Phi party witnesses told police Cornell Jane Doe seemed calm that night

Two people who were at the October 2024 Chi Phi party told investigators that Cornell's Jane Doe appeared clear-headed during the night, according to transcripts of their police interviews.

One of them is a fraternity brother who says the room where Doe alleges she was raped was his bedroom. The other is his girlfriend. Neither is a defendant in Doe's civil lawsuit.

The DJ's account

The fraternity brother spoke with police on November 21. Doe had gone to campus police on November 8 and gave a sworn statement six days later.

He said he was running music at the party. When he stopped by his room he found Doe there with Jonathan Newell, who he said seemed to be throwing up into a container. He told police Doe kept insisting things were fine and that she was looking after Newell. He also said he felt she was blocking the doorway so he could not come in.

He said that on a later visit several people were in the room with her. He described Doe as fully dressed and lying on a bed while talking clearly with the others. Asked to rate how drunk she seemed on a scale of 10, he put her at a 1 or 2.

He said he cleared everyone out so he and his girlfriend could use the room. Afterward he said he headed out for fast food at McDonald's with a small group that included Gillio Lopes and his girlfriend. By the time he got back nobody was in the room so he turned in for the night.

What he heard the next morning

The DJ told police that the next day he learned several of his fraternity brothers had been part of what he called a "consensual act." When officers pressed him on the word, he said Matthew Ingalls, Winston Lee, Lopes and Newell had each told him the sex with Doe was consensual. Why the men chose to describe it that way hours after the party has not been explained.

He added that he never got the sense that Doe wanted to leave at any point he saw her.

The girlfriend's account

His girlfriend spoke with investigators on December 17, more than a month after Doe's first visit to campus police.

She said that when the group came back from McDonald's some fraternity members were gathered outside the room trying to figure out what was happening inside. She said she was confused to hear that people had been coming and going from the room all night and that it did not seem like anything good was going on.

She said someone told the group to clear out and she watched Doe walk out with four or five men. She said realizing how many men had been in there with Doe was frightening. Even so, she said Doe did not appear upset.

A change of heart

She told police she was not worried about Doe that night. Her view shifted as she learned more about Doe's side of the story, including talk that drugs were involved and Doe's claim that the sex was not consensual. She said she felt somewhat guilty for not stepping in.

Still, she told investigators there was no clear sign anything was wrong because Doe and the men all looked composed as they walked out. She said nobody seemed visibly upset.