Last Updated: Thursday, February 15, 2007 3:45 PM CST
Three teens connected to student's death
by Heather Schaefer - Daily News Staff - hschaefer@rhinelanderdailynews.com
Three teenagers have been charged with felonies in connection to the death of a French foreign exchange student in Tomahawk last October.
According to court records, Tyler Anthony Carlson, 17, Brandon Finucan, 17, and Adam Kopetzky, 18, all of Merrill, have all been charged with procuring alcohol for a minor (as party to the crime) resulting in that person's death.
The charge is a Class G felony for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison and five years extended supervision.
The three, none of whom are legally allowed to buy or drink alcohol, are accused of providing alcohol to Arnaud Benard Van Den Berghe, 17.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department a call was received at approximately 3:28 a.m. on October 27, 2006 reporting Van Den Berghe had no pulse and was not breathing.
Authorities immediately responded to a cabin in the town of Bradley and transported the teen to Sacred Heart Hospital in Tomahawk where he was pronounced dead.
Lincoln County authorities later disclosed that other minors and alcohol were present at the cabin at the time of the incident and a party had apparently taken place.
Van Den Berghe, who was from Aigaliers (a small town in southern France about 100 miles northwest of Marseille) had a blood alcohol concentration of .24 at the time of his death.
Last week, authorities said an autopsy concluded Van Den Berghe had a rare neurological disease.
A University of Wisconsin forensic pathologist determined that Van Den Berghe died from a seizure caused by a combination of the alcohol he drank and the disease, Lincoln County Sheriff Jeff Jaeger told the Associated Press.
Jaeger said the autopsy found Van Den Berghe had Alexander disease, which affects the growth of the fatty covering that insulates nerve fibers in the brain. There is no cure or treatment for Alexander disease, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
According to Wisconsin Statutes, any person who procures alcoholic beverages for or sells, dispenses or gives away alcoholic beverages to a person under 18 may be charged with a felony, if the person providing the alcohol knows (or should know) that the underage person is under the legal drinking age and the underage person dies or suffers great bodily harm.
Defenses against the felony charge include:
- The underage person falsely represented that he or she had attained the legal drinking age.
- The underage person supports the representation that he or she is legally able to drink with documentation that he or she has attained the legal drinking age.
- The alcoholic beverages are provided in good faith reliance on the underage person's representation that he or she has attained the legal drinking age.
- The appearance of the underage person is such that an ordinary and prudent person would believe that he or she had attained the legal drinking age.
Carlson, Finucan and Kopetzky will make their initial appearances in Lincoln County Circuit Court Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
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Comments
Helen wrote on Feb 15, 2007 7:16 PM: