‘Goodbye Jamaican Barbie’: white US student smeared her body fluids on black roommate’s belongings, police say

A white Connecticut college student has been charged with smearing body fluids on her black roommate’s belongings, and police are saying it was a bias crime.

West Hartford police disclosed Wednesday that University of Hartford student Brianna Brochu, 18, was charged Saturday with misdemeanour criminal mischief and breach of peace. Police also asked a judge to add a felony bigotry charge Wednesday.

University President Greg Woodward said Brochu is no longer a student at the school and will not be returning. University officials said federal privacy laws prevent them from saying whether a student is expelled.

“The accused student’s behaviour was reprehensible and does not reflect the values of our institution,” Woodward said in a statement to the campus community Tuesday. “The incident has brought about accusations of racism, and I want you to know that I hear and share your anger and frustration. Acts of racism, bias, bullying, or other abusive behaviours will not be tolerated on this campus.”

Brochu, of Harwinton, Connecticut, did not return a message on Wednesday. She did not comment during a Wednesday court appearance, when a judge barred her from campus property and ordered her to stay away from her now-former roommate.

The Hartford Courant reports Brochu told police she put her body fluids on her roommate’s backpack and licked her roommate’s plate, fork and spoon because she was frustrated with her roommate’s rude behaviour. Brochu denied other actions she wrote about on Instagram, including that she put her roommate’s toothbrush “where the sun doesn’t shine.”