Story Archive

The Time of Their Lives

A year ago, Tiffany Startz, 22, John Powell, 25, and Jimmy Mounts, 27, went to a party to celebrate the life of a woman who had ended her own. As part of the ...well... festivities, Mounts offered $5 to whoever was willing to take a punch in the face from Miss Startz. Powell accepted. She punched him and, minutes later, he too was dead. A judge held that the cause of death was the bursting of a neck artery as a result of a change in momentum, rather than the power of Startz’s punch. He dismissed the criminal charges against her as “negligent, not reckless.” Startz’s father publicly extended his family’s condolences to Powell’s, but Powell’s mother threatened civil lawsuits, saying Startz “got away with murder.” (AC/Chicago Tribune) ...If Tiffany Startz invites you to her party celebrating the judge’s decision, be careful how you celebrate.