The preliminary examination has been postponed for four female MSU students charged in connection with the drowning of an 18-year-old Bay City man.
Nicole Bukowski, 21, Cassandra Duggan, 20, Laurel Trezise, 20, and Sara Kaufman, 21, were charged with running an unlicensed bar at a party that Delta College student Eric Blair attended before he drowned in the Red Cedar River.
Police say the four females had a party on Oct. 19 in their East Lansing apartment where they charged admission for alcohol, a felony punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Police said Blair attended the party, but was asked to leave because he was too intoxicated. Blair’s body was found in the river Oct. 23.
The students’ preliminary examination was set for Monday, but because of scheduling conflicts between the lawyers, it was postponed until 9 a.m. April 29 in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court.
“Given the fact that you have four lawyers, there is three times more of a chance that there will be conflicts,” said Bernard Finn, an attorney representing Trezise.
Finn said it is not fair the Ingham County prosecutor’s office should charge these students for something that happens often.
“It is unfortunate that these students not only have to face criminal actions,” he said, “but also incur the cost of defending themselves, when the behavior is so pandemic on campus.”
A fifth student also is being charged in connection with Blair’s death. Nicholaus Belski, 18, is charged with the misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor. He will be sentenced May 22.
