Adults partied with Red Lion athletes killed in wreck, police say
About a year ago, a group of teenagers asked Jodie Tierney to buy some alcohol for them. They had pooled together some cash and gave it to her.
She agreed, and even drank some of what she bought with them at her home, according to police.
That was one of several such instances that Pennsylvania State Police learned about during a nearly year-long investigation into Jodie Tierney and her husband, Stephen.
The married couple, both 45, now face charges including involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of two teenagers last year.
The charges stem from an investigation into the crash that killed Stone Hill, 17, of Delta, and Nicholas Mankin, 16, of Felton, in June 2015 in Lower Chanceford Township. Both played football at Red Lion Area Senior High School.
Police found that about 10 teenagers, including Mankin and Hill, had been drinking at the Tierneys' home the night before the crash, when the couple was home, and on the day of the crash, when the couple was not at home, charging documents state.
The Tierneys have two children, both under 18, who were "acquaintances" of Hill and Mankin, documents state.
"This was the house where high school students went to drink," said Tim Barker, a chief deputy prosecutor with the York County District Attorney's Office who approved the charges and will be working on the case.
The accusations against the Tierneys range further than drinking at their home around the day of the crash.
Trooper Jonathan Colarusso interviewed several teenagers who recalled drinking at the Tierneys' home on Percheron Drive in Windsor Township for about two years. The kids drank there “without fear of repercussion” and one minor who was interviewed told police Jodie Tierney was “cool” with them drinking in the basement, documents state.
A phone message left at a number listed for the Tierneys was not returned Thursday.
"Many of the facts are not correct and it should not be a criminal case," the couple's attorney, Douglas Bare, said. "We do not believe Mr. and Mrs. Tierney's conduct was criminal whatsoever."
For Barker, the legal aspect of the case prosecutors looked at was a "duty to care."
"They had assumed that duty by taking care of these children when they would come and stay at their house," Barker said. "And they provided the safe house for the consumption of alcohol for high school students."
Social media plays a part
A toxicology analysis found that Hill had a blood alcohol content of 0.094 percent at the time of the crash, documents state. It is illegal for an adult in Pennsylvania to operate a vehicle with BAC of 0.08 percent or more. A minor cannot have a BAC of more than 0.02 percent.
He had been driving east on Slab Road and lost control of his 2002 Toyota 4-Runner just as he was driving down a hill. Police say he was driving between 64 and 73 mph.
The vehicle struck a pole and flipped over, killing Hill and Mankin.
As the investigation got underway, police found photos and videos posted on the day of the crash on Hill's and Mankin’s Snapchat accounts. Snapchat is a popular social media app where people can send each other images and messages that quickly disappear.
Police found out that the images, which included alcohol, were taken inside the Tierneys' home, documents state.
And, on the night of Hill’s viewing service, police found a photo posted on an Instagram account of a teenager drinking at the Tierney home. (The teenager allegedly told police he did post the photo at their home, but denied consuming any alcohol that night).
‘Work for food and drinks’
The Tierney couple was also charged with two counts each of endangering the welfare of children, both third-degree felonies.
Under the charge, the couple is alleged to have knowingly endangered both Hill and Mankin’s lives by “harboring or condoning an environment where illegal activity such as underage drinking was permitted,” documents state.
In one instance, the police found a text message from Mankin in which he talked about the Tierneys being more comfortable with the kids drinking at their home “instead of going out to parties,” documents state.
In another account, an 18-year-old told police that Jodie Tierney bought him a 12-pack of beer and fast food in May 2015 for helping her with landscaping work, police reported.
Court appearance
Jodie and Stephen Tierney appeared for a preliminary arraignment Thursday at District Judge Scott Laird's office, online court records show.
They were both released on unsecured bail, which was set at $25,000.
