Cal Poly SLO SX bros pay $357,000 in drug death

[hoosier]

Frat boys settle big
Now mom of GHB victim Brian Gillis seeks criminal action

By DANIEL BLACKBURN

A group of Cal Poly fraternity members have agreed to pay $357,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a youth who died after a Sigma Chi pledge party in San Luis Obispo.
Brian Gillis, 19, of Poway, was found dead in his Stenner Glen apartment the morning following an off-campus party in April 2002 hosted by members of the now-disbarred fraternity.
Subsequent forensic investigation revealed the youth had slipped into a deep coma and died after ingesting a massive quantity of Gamma Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) at the party. The party, in turn, had been advertised as featuring an abundance of alcohol and drugs.
Leo and Patricia Gillis filed the lawsuit after their son's death naming 10 defendants and alleging that Sigma Chi members "conspired to obfuscate the true facts of events leading up to Brian's death."
The Gillis's will receive $250,000 from insurance carriers for Matthew Heintz, and lesser amounts from the remaining nine defendants: Joel Edwards; Nick Potter; Brian Schnarr; Nick Coccimiglio; Adam Morte; Robert Poorman; Matt Soderstrom; David Seminsky; and Tess Sheridan, a friend of fraternity members.
Patricia Gillis said this week she now plans to vigorously pursue the arrest and conviction of Heintz, the individual she says is responsible for providing the drug to her son the night he died. She maintains her son drank a beverage without knowing that it was laden with GHB.
In a March 18 cover story ("Trouble at Sigma Chi"), New Times cited sworn depositions from fraternity members and others who were at that fateful party. At least two of those giving deposition testimony identified Heintz, a former officer of Sigma Chi, as the man who concocted and provided the fatal cocktail. The drink, made with fruit juice and GHB, was mixed in a Gatorade bottle and dubbed "FaderAid" by Sigma Chi members.
It is a felony under California law to provide an unlawful drug to a person who subsequently dies from its use.
Nick Potter, one of those who settled in the civil case, said in a sworn deposition given earlier this year that he learned about the source of the fatal GHB dose when he "was a roommate of Heintz's in 2003 in a San Luis Obispo residence.
"As far as me finding out from Heintz that he gave [Gillis] the GHB [on the night of his death], I found that out over the course of the past year when I was [Heintz's] roommate, but I was unaware of who gave it to [Gillis] up until that point," said Potter.
Earlier this year, Heintz's defense attorney, David Cumberland of San Luis Obispo, said his client was aware of the allegations made by his former fraternity brothers but declined further comment.
GHB, originally developed for use as an anesthesia, also produces deep reversible depression of cerebral metabolism, decreases heart rate, and generally slows down body functions. An amount of less than a single teaspoon will quickly induce a deep coma and can eventually cause death.
The settlement leaves unanswered the question of the fraternity's members's behavior immediately after word spread of the young Gillis's death.
The night after Gillis died, about 30 members of Sigma Chi gathered at Lake Nacimiento to discuss the tragedy. They sat around a campfire in what one member described as a "round-table." Officers of the fraternity later would deny to authorities that they discussed any kind of "cover-up" or tried to fabricate a story to protect the house and its members. "We were out there to remember his life," Potter said of Gillis.
Patricia Gillis does not mince words when she opines about local police investigative efforts in her son's case.
"They have been acting like this is an everyday occurrence," she said recently. "The San Luis Obispo Police Department will never admit it botched the investigation. Sigma Chi has been running the police department and their parents for years. The police are obstructing justice."
She also said she believes Gillis that police are handling the case as "just another overdose of a college kid," and are not taking seriously her contention that Brian Gillis might have consumed the GHB without really knowing what he was doing.
The Gillis's attorney, Shaun Martin of San Diego, said the settlement "does not fully serve justice. The people responsible for Brian's death have yet to be held accountable."
Steve Brown, San Luis Obispo County's chief deputy district attorney, said in a recent letter to New Times that the case remains under investigation and declined further comment. Police officials similarly declined to discuss the case, citing its ongoing nature.