COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

STACY PARKS MILLER 102 S. Allegheny St.
District Attorney Courthouse, Room 404
Bellefonte, PA 16823
MARK S. SMITH Telephone (814) 355-6735
First Assistant District Attorney Victim/Witness (814) 548-1107
FAX (814) 355-6756

August 24, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMMONWEALTH ANSWERS FRAT

ATTORNEYS DEMAND FOR FBI TO RETURN
VIDEO TO FRAT

On August 18, 2017, the attorneys for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity
corporation filed a motion to compel the return of the original video of the
death of Timothy Piazza.

The video is crucial evidence in the case against the fraternity and the 18
brothers charged in Piazzas death. Since the Commonwealth took
possession of the video after Piazzas death, the Commonwealth has used
the video as evidence in charging the brothers and the fraternity for
Piazzas death. Even after preliminary hearings begun, the Commonwealth
has continued to uncover more evidence of potential tampering by
members of the fraternity.

As the Commonwealth has investigated, the fraternity has engaged

in a furious attempt to regain custody of the critical evidence in this case.
The Commonwealth even had to appeal to the Supreme Court to keep the
Centre County Court of Common Pleas from giving critical, original
evidence to a defendant in a criminal case.

Today, the Commonwealth answers yet another motion from the

fraternitys lawyer where the fraternity demands that the FBI, in possession
of the tape as it undergoes further forensic analysis, return the tape to the
fraternity, despite the fact that the fraternity is a defendant in a criminal
case. While the Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Constitution allow the
defendant in a criminal matter to view evidence against him, that discovery
happens in due time under the rules, and never before a preliminary
hearing is complete.

Stacy Parks Miller, Centre County DA, said The lengths to which
this fraternity will go to suppress and conceal potential evidence of a crime
is astonishing. Clearly, the fraternitys chief defense tactic is to compromise
the Commonwealths investigation into criminal behavior.