Authorities filed furnishing alcohol charges today in connection with Joseph Dado's death, with court documents revealing the Penn State freshman consumed beer, vodka and whiskey and smoked marijuana in the hours before his death.
Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity, Fiji member John Townsend and student Jennifer E. Clifford are all charged with furnishing alcohol to Dado in the time leading up to his death, according to court documents.
Documents also revealed that Dado smoked marijuana and took shots of whiskey provided by Townsend inside his Fiji fraternity room Sept. 20.
Toxicology test results recorded Dado's blood alcohol content at .169 percent and found no drugs in his system, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said. Sayers maintained there was no error in his report.
Townsend, 21, who lives at the Fiji fraternity house, offered Dado a place to stay the night, but Dado ultimately refused, police said. Townsend told police that when Dado left Fiji, he was not sure he was going "and had to be pointed in the right direction," according to court documents.
Maintenance workers found Dado's body at the bottom of an exterior stairwell near the Steidle Building on Sept. 21.
Police said Dado attended events at two fraternities: Alpha Tau Omega, 321 E. Fairmount Ave., and Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), 319 N. Burrowes Road.
Dado and three friends arrived at Alpha Tau Omega at about 12:10 a.m. wearing Interfraternity Council (IFC) recruiting bracelets, police said. While there, they each consumed a can of Natural Light beer that was in a plastic bin available for anyone to take, police said.
The group also played beer bong at the fraternity and ultimately consumed four or five beers each while at Alpha Tau Omega, police said.
Before Dado and his friends attended Alpha Tau Omega, they drank alcohol in Dado's room, police said.
Clifford, 21, of Gibsonia, Pa., purchased Vladimir vodka for Dado and his friends Sept. 18, which they drank the following night before going to the fraternities, police said.
After leaving Dado's Tener Hall dorm room, the group went to Alpha Tau Omega, then to Dado's sister Natalie's Burrowes Corner apartment to use the bathroom, police said. The group ultimately arrived at Fiji at 1:50 a.m., according to court documents.
During the course of the Dado investigation, authorities also found Fiji had furnished alcohol to an underage person Sept. 12, police said. Authorities did not name the underage person related to those separate charges.
