BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Lawyers for members of a Penn State fraternity accused of crimes related to the death of a pledge are continuing to chip away at the allegations during questioning of the lead detective. The fourth day of a preliminary hearing Thursday included additional security camera footage of 19-year-old Tim Piazza stumbling and unsteady after a night of drinking that followed a pledge bid acceptance ceremony. A fifth day of testimony takes place today.
Jim and Evelyn Piazza stand by as Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller, left, announces the results of an investigation into the death of their son Timothy Piazza, seen in photo at right, a Penn State University fraternity pledge, during a press conference Friday, May 5, 2017, in Bellefonte, Pa. Timothy Piazza had toxic levels of alcohol in his body and was badly injured in a series of falls, authorities said Friday in announcing criminal charges against members of the organization and the frat itself.
Defense attorneys are focusing on the evidence that involves their respective clients, particularly the camera footage that’s at the heart of the prosecution’s case. Piazza was a sophomore engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey, when he was fatally injured during a series of falls at the since-closed Beta Theta Pi house. Lawyers for 12 of 19 defendants have already cross-examined the detective. The hearing continues Friday.
Video shot inside a Penn State fraternity house shows a pledge stumbling and unsteady about three hours before he was found unconscious in the basement. Prosecutors played the four-minute excerpt Thursday. They had previously shown other excerpts from security video, but the additional segment was played to show more evidence of Piazza’s medical condition.
The 19-year-old from Lebanon, New Jersey, died the next day at a hospital. He suffered severe head and abdominal injuries and had consumed a dangerous amount of alcohol. There’s no video from the basement, and the lead detective says he now suspects it was purposely erased and charges may result.
