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DA: Teen committed suicide at Andover party

E-mail|Link August 20, 2009 03:02 PM

By Shelley Murphy, Katheleen Conti, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

LAWRENCE -- A prosecutor revealed in court today that a 16-year-old Wellesley girl who drowned in an icy stream after leaving an all-night house party in Andover last February committed suicide.

Elizabeth Mun

The cause of Elizabeth Mun's death was disclosed as two teenagers who attended Concord Academy with Mun appeared in Lawrence District Court to face charges that they provided alcohol to the underage teenagers who attended the party.'

"The medical examiner's office ruled that the cause of death was drowning and that the manner was suicide," Essex Assistant District Attorney Jessica Connors told the court. "The ME further ruled that her consumption of alcohol was not a contributory factor to her death."

The night of Feb. 14, 15 to 20 students from Concord Academy went to a party at the Andover home of Zachary Zimmerman, 19. The teens pooled their money, Connors said, and went to a liquor store to buy vodka and cases of Coors light. The alcohol was allegedly purchased by Morgan Ingari, 18, who was accused of using a fake ID.

Mun wandered out of Zimmerman's home at 5 a.m. and her boyfriend called police to report her missing, Connors said.

"When she left she was upset and she was not dressed -- if you will -- for the frigid night," Connors said.

Police found Mun at about 11 a.m. partially submerged in an icy stream about 100 yards behind Zimmerman's home. She was pronounced dead at 5:27 p.m. at Children's Hospital in Boston.

Today in Lawrence District Court, Zimmerman pleaded not guilty to a charge of furnishing alcohol to minors. His case was continued until Sept. 29.

Ingari, of Winchester, admitted there were sufficient facts to find her guilty of furnishing alcohol to minors.

Judge David W. Cunis agreed to continue the case without a finding for two years and ordered her to perform 50 hours of community service and complete a program called, "Brains at Risk.'' He ordered her not to drink alcohol and required that she undergo random alcohol screens.

After the hearing, defense lawyer Robert M. Delahunt Jr. said Ingari had accepted responsibility for the charge against her but added that his client had been wrongly tied to Mun's death.

"It's not fair that there's a public perception that she had anything to do with" Mun's death, Delahunt said. "It was an error in judgment. It had nothing to do with this tragic and terrible death. It's a tragedy all the way around.''