Startz Acquitted in Party Game Case

A Will County judge acquitted Tiffany Startz on charges of battery and reckless conduct Wednesday in the “party game” death of a Romeoville man.

Startz, 22, was charged after admitting to punching John Powell, 25, in the face as part of a dare made by co-defendant Jimmy Mounts at a Crest Hill house party. Mounts, who to lying to police, reportedly offered $5 to anyone willing to be punched in the face by a girl.

Powell, who had performed at the party as part of the rap duo Krazy Killaz earlier that night, accepted the dare. He collapsed and was taken to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he was pronounced dead.

“Nobody wins here,” Powell’s mother, Theresa Guy, told reporters after Judge Edward Burmila made his ruling.

Last week, Burmila reviewed cell phone videos of Startz hitting Powell. In one clip, Powell could be seen preparing for the punch, leaning forward as he waited for Startz, a Plainfield South High School graduate, to hit him.

“There is no question the defendant acted negligently in striking the victim,” Burmila said. “Negligence does not equal recklessness.”

Burmila also rejected the claim that Startz’s actions amounted to battery.

“The victim gave his consent to be struck once in the face by the defendant, and that’s exactly what happened,” the judge said, pointing out that no one at that party stepped forward to try to prevent the incident.

“The lack of apparent danger was so present at the event that the event was videotaped,” with partygoers intending to post the video on YouTube, Burmila said.

Ira Goldstein, Startz’s attorney, called the incident “a party stunt that went terribly wrong,” saying Startz acted without malice.

Guy appeared outraged by the verdict.

“You’ve got to love the justice system,” she said, adding she believes Startz “got away with murder.”

Guy, a Romeoville resident, said she intends to appeal to legislators to try to pass what she calls “John’s Law.”

“So that anybody who does this … is prosecuted for murder,” she said. Guy has characterized her son, who was fond of extreme sports and mixed martial arts, as a daredevil.

“He took the bet,” . “He didn’t say, ‘Yeah, hit me and kill me.’”

Burmila said his decision was "not a statement on the life of John Powell."

"Having lost a child myself, I know the pain that flows from that event," he said before announcing his verdict. "And it's a pain that can seem unendurable."