DA: No Evidence of Criminal Conduct in Death of Lafayette Lacrosse Player

DA John Morganelli, flanked by
Lt. Matthew Gerould (L) and Detective Darren Snyder (R).

Lafayette College's McRae Williams, a freshman lacrosse goalie, died on Monday, September 11, just as his college career was beginning. Several unfounded rumors about how that death occurred began appearing in some news outlets, so NorCo District Attorney John Morganelli called a news conference yesterday to disclose some details of this ongoing investigation. Morganelli was flanked by Easton police Lt. Matthew Gerould and Detective Darren Snyder.

Here's what they know so far:

1) Williams had been drinking on Friday and Saturday of the previous weekend. - He attended a party that Friday at Rueff Hall, starting around 6 pm, with fellow lacrosse players. They say he was under the influence, but appeared to be OK and was "talkative." later that night, lacrosse players went to another party on High Street, but it is unclear whether Williams attended. On Saturday, at about noon,he began to drink, but texted a friend that "all we have is watermelon vodka and I hate watermelon." He later attended a beer party at the Boneyard on Cattell Street. Surveillance video showed him walking to and from the local WaWa with friends, where his gait appeared to be unsteady. That was the extent of his drinking. He skipped a Saturday night party.

2) There is no evidence of hazing. - Investigators have spoken to 14 people so far and have uncovered no evidence that Williams was forced to undergo any ritual or that his drinking had been involuntary.

3) Williams became sick on Saturday, and may have fallen. - On late Saturday afternoon, after returning from the WaWa, Williams had the company of a female friend. Around 5 pm,he got up and went to the bathroom to throw up About an hour later, he did so again. At this time,she heard a loud noise in the bathroom and he was on the floor, but she did not see him fall. There was no sign of an injury.

4) Friends grew concerned as Williams continued sleeping.  - On Saturday night, Williams skipped a lacrosse player party. When friends checked on him, he pulled the covers over himself. On Sunday, he continued sleeping. Around 4 pm,his friends began to think he might need medical attention. He became combative as they tried to dress him, but was noticeably weak. They got him outside and called thwir coach, and he advised that they call 911 immediately and arrived himself at 4:22 pm.

5) Williams had a fractured skull. - At the hospital, and X-Ray and cat scan revealed that, despite the absence of physical evidence, he had a fractured skull. Williams passed away on 9/11, and Coroner Scott Grim has ruled that the death is the result of blunt force trauma to the head.  

"At this time, I have no evidence of criminal conduct," said Morganelli. "I do not see this as a Penn State case," he concluded referring to a Center County prosecution of several Penn State students accused of contributing to the drinking death of a fellow classmate.

Morganelli said there is a "strong likelihood" that Williams suffered a serious head injury when he fell onto the floor. .

(Blogger's Note: Please be respectful in your comments on this tragedy, which shows how fragile life can be.)  

Lafayette College Gets a $10,000 Jazz Grant

US Congressman Matt Cartwright proudly announced yesterday that Lafayette College has received a $10,000 federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This grant will provide support for their long-running Jazz Series programming at the Williams Center for the Arts. Alison R. Byerly, president of Lafayette College, gushed, “The Jazz Series enriches student experience, contributes to the artistic growth of this important field, and provides uniquely inspiring encounters for the public at large. The NEA’s endorsement of this program is valuable testimony to the important role the arts play in our region."

This bothers me. First, Lafayette is a private school with a $740 million endowment. It has no need for federal grant money. Second, a grant for jazz appreciation would be better spent in venues where it's actually created, not an engineering school for people who are already too rich to much appreciate anything. Third, members of the public who wish to see these jazz series programs have to pay for the privilege. Lafayette makes no effort to bring in the unwashed masses. This is a subsidy for the artsy-fartsies.

I believe that the arts do need our support, but this is a waste of taxpayer dollars. We are paying for grants to put on shows we have no money to see.

Lafayette's Crew on the Lehigh

Every Autumn and Spring, Lafayette students descend from College Hill to Lehigh River, twice a day, to do some sculling. At one time, they ran there and back, but I think they drive to and from practice these days. They had a good afternoon yesterday.

Vote For Panto: He's a Doctor, Damn It!

What Do You Think When You Hear the Word "Easton"?

Lafayette College has a student organization called Pards to People, based on the People to People organization founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to advance international understanding, tolerance, and world peace through direct people-to-people contact.

Yesterday, I received a thoughtful email from its president, sophomore Alan Raisman. Let me share part of it with you.

I founded this with the belief that Lafayette College and the city of Easton can develop a better relationship. ... Last year, I worked hard making an impression in the city and trying to meet the people who make a difference every day in the city of Easton. In the past year, Pards to People has worked with Gary Bertsch and Sal Panto, the two candidates running for Mayor; Penelope Fennell, the vice president of Easton's NAACP; Kim Kmetz from Easton's Main Street Initiative; Anita Mitchell from the Easton Area Community Center; Christina Hagan from the Family YMCA, Debbie Metz from the Easton Area Senior Center; among others. Pards to People has a great list of events for this year, but I want to implement one project early on.

Throughout my freshmen year, I heard different comments about the city made by people throughout Easton. The variety of remarks astonished me, and I wanted to take a simple task of listening one step further. I am compiling a list of words that describe Easton. That list will be compiled of the words given to me by members of the Easton community: students, faculty, business owners, residents, etc. I am asking you to think of one word that comes to mind when you think of Easton. Please email that word to me. If you wish to include a brief explanation on why you chose that word, that would be great. In January, over my winter break, I am going to see how each category of words break down, whether it be by age, by sex, by location, etc.

I want to implement this project throughout the entire city. If you would please ask everyone in your store, committee, group, etc. to send me a word, I would greatly appreciate it. Any other information about themselves that they would like to send would be appreciated as well. I would like to try to classify these words as directly as possible, by age, by gender, by location, etc. This project will hopefully bring a deeper understanding to what the citizens think about their city. After the recent events in Kutztown, I realized that we all need to understand the true meaning of where we live before its too late. Taking a look at the words of hopefully thousands of people will give people a greater appreciate for where they live. Thank you very much. I look forward to reading the various responses, and I would be happy to meet with any of you individually to implement this project in the city.

I asked Alan if he wanted to post his question here, and he agreed. "I am going to look at the words in particular areas, so if you could have them include information about themselves or whatever they would like, I would appreciate that too. I want to classify them by gender, age, job description, and location."

So if you can think of a word that describes Easton, post it here with some information about yourself. or better yet, contact Alan directly at raismana@lafayette.edu.