Private investigator looks into student's death

A private investigator and an attorney from Frackville are gathering information about the death of Joseph A. Bettinger, the University student who died after a fall on a College Avenue sidewalk.

The investigation is at the request of Margaret Bettinger, Joseph Bettinger's mother, said Michael J. O'Connor, an attorney representing the estate of Joseph Bettinger.

He was found by State College Police Department officers in the early morning of Feb. 14 lying on the sidewalk on the 400 block of East College Avenue.

The 21-year-old died the next day.

"She wants to find out what happened, like any mother would," O'Connor said. Both O'Connor and John E. O'Boyle, the private investigator, are from Joseph's hometown of Frackville, and O'Boyle said he knew Joseph Bettinger personally.

An advertisement placed by Margaret Bettinger appeared in The Daily Collegian yesterday and will appear for four more consecutive days.

A similar advertisement appeared in the Centre Daily Times on Monday, O'Boyle said.

Joseph Bettinger was 6 feet tall, weighed 170 pounds and had short, blonde hair. The night he fell he wore jeans, a dark short-sleeved shirt over a light, long-sleeved shirt and a black baseball cap.

He was last seen at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., before the fall.

O'Boyle said he has done more than 100 interviews, many with students, who saw Joseph Bettinger before his death.

Hanging signs around town and stopping people on the street near Crowbar have been the techniques he has used during the past month and a half to gather information.

O'Boyle said he also has received calls from people who saw the advertisements.

"A number of students have come forward, we're just trying to get as many as possible (to come forward) who witnessed what happened," O'Connor said.

Joseph Bettinger's autopsy determined the cause of death as a "closed head injury due to a fall while intoxicated," said forensic pathologist Isidore Mihalakis of Lehigh Valley Medical Center.

His blood-alcohol content was 0.24 percent, which is more than two times the legal limit.

The State College police investigation is not officially closed yet, said Lt. Diane Conrad of the State College police.

No new information has been uncovered by the police since the days following his death, she said.

Conrad said the police are aware of the private investigation and have shared their incident reports.

A representative of the Centre County Corner's office said there is no new information concerning the cause of death.