SKOKIE – A grand jury has indicted a former Northwestern student in connection with the death of SESP freshman Matthew Sunshine.
In a hearing Tuesday morning, Circuit Court Judge Marcia Orr accepted the indictment and set the date for the trial against 22-year-old Alexander Krzyston, who has not been enrolled at NU since Spring Quarter. Krzyston, a native of Burr Ridge, Ill., is charged with providing vodka to Sunshine on the night that he died of alcohol poisoning.
Krzyston’s trial is scheduled to begin with an arraignment on Feb. 11.
Prosecutors avoided an early test of their case by choosing to gain the indictment through a private grand jury instead of in a public hearing before a judge.
“At a grand jury, the defendant is not present and there’s no cross-examination,” said Krzyston’s private attorney, Gary Adair, after the hearing. “Basically, it’s not very hard to indict a case.”
Sunshine died in June after attending a party in his dorm, Foster House, 2253 Sheridan Rd.
According to police, Krzyston provided the alcohol for a drinking game that Sunshine participated in, causing the 19-year-old to reach a blood-alcohol level of 0.396. Friends then escorted Sunshine back to his room, checking on him throughout the night. He was found unresponsive the next morning, police said.
Police arrested Krzyston on Dec. 16, and charged him with unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor, a felony charge when it results in death. He was freed on $25,000 bond.
The charge carries a possible sentence of one to three years in prison and a maximum $25,000 fine. Penalties usually include fines, probation or community service but rarely jail time, according to a 2008 Associated Press study.
Adair said he was confident in his client’s case.
“We would have loved to have our opportunity to challenge the police,” Adair said. “The test has been put off.”
Krzyston, in attendance at the 9 a.m. hearing with his parents, declined to comment.
At a preliminary hearing two weeks ago, Adair said the death has weighed heavily on the defendant in the six months since the incident.
“Nobody expected this to happen and he feels awful,” he said. “He feels terrible for the family of the young man that died. But now he’s trying to go on with his life.”
The scheduled Feb. 11 arraignment will formally present Krzyston with the charges against him and give him an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. Adair warned that the scheduled date would probably be pushed back to allow both sides more time to prepare.
Christina Chaey contributed to this report.
