Mar 03, 2006 - 06:53:06 CST
After about five hours of deliberation, a Burleigh County jury on Thursday found Mark Streeper guilty of manslaughter. Streeper, 27, had been charged with the felony after the Nov. 29, 2004, death of a Mandan High School junior. Ashley Berge, 16, died of an overdose in Streeper's bedroom.Streeper is being held without bond at the North Dakota State Penitentiary. He'll be there for at least the next 60 days, while investigators look into his past. South Central District Judge Bruce Haskell will use that information, along with the jury's verdict and information from the trial, when sentencing him in two months.
Manslaughter, which means one recklessly caused the death of another, is a class B felony. There is no minimum penalty, but the judge could not give Streeper more than 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Berge's family appeared to be pleased with the verdict but declined comment after the four-day trial. Assistant Burleigh County State's Attorney Cynthia Feland, who prosecuted the case, said the verdict provided some closure for the family in a situation that is "a parent's worst nightmare."
Berge attended a gathering at Streeper's residence on Nov. 28, where she consumed a lethal quantity of the prescription drugs methadone, alprazolam and oxycodone. Two witnesses testified that Streeper - a self-described junkie who had prescriptions for those drugs - injected the drugs into Berge's arm. Streeper said Berge injected herself.
Later in the evening, after everyone else had left, Streeper and Berge began watching "Seinfeld" DVDs in his room. She removed her clothing from the waist up, he said, and fell asleep on his bed. Streeper said he woke Berge up at about 12:30 a.m., and testified that she told him she was too tired to go home and asked to stay there. He said that was the last time he saw her alive. He said he played on his computer for about four hours and went to sleep in his chair.
Photographs of Berge were found on his digital camera, however, which were taken at about 4:20 a.m. He admitted to taking them but said he didn't realize Berge had died. Streeper's attorney, Kent Morrow, said an expert testified earlier in the case that it would likely not be possible for a lay person to tell at that point that Berge had overdosed, based on the photos.
A phone call awoke Streeper at about noon Nov. 29, and he called 911 at 12:13 p.m.
Feland said Streeper, who had seen a person overdose before, should have known what was going on and should have contacted authorities much earlier.
After the verdict Thursday, Feland said Berge's age likely influenced the jury's decision.
"When you put a minor with someone who is 10 years her senior, you're dealing with a different level of responsibility," Feland said. "When a 26-year-old provides the drugs, decides on the amount and injects the drugs into a 16-year-old, and then does nothing to help, that person caused the death."
Morrow said Streeper could appeal within 60 days after his sentencing.
"He's obviously disappointed in the verdict," Morrow said. "The fact that the jury took five hours, over two days, to make its decision means they thoroughly considered all the evidence."
Streeper also was convicted on two counts of delivering alcohol to a minor. He provided beer for Berge and one of her friends the night she died.
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