Wayne County jury awards $75 million to family of man whose friends gave him drug , recorded death

From left, Jamie and Linda Thom speak out at a press conference with their attorney, Mike Morse, after their son's estate was awarded $75 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. George Hunter

George Hunter The Detroit News Aug. 9, 2024 Updated Aug. 11, 2024, 9:12 a.m. ET Southfield — A Wayne County jury Thursday awarded $75 million to the

estate of a 21-year-old University of Detroit Mercy student who died five

years ago after friends reportedly slipped him a heavy dose of drugs and

posted videos of his reaction — and death — to social media.

Business major Denis Preka asked a classmate for Adderall on March 19, 2019,

to help cram for a test the following day, attorney Mike Morse said during a Friday press conference in his Southfield office.

"Instead, he was given a high dose of MDMA, which is also known as 'Molly,' a dangerous drug that led to his untimely death," Morse said. "In their recklessness and ignorance, his friends watched and recorded Denis' suffering, assuming he was merely tripping, and they posted videos on Snapchat exposing his final moments to the world."

Preka's mother Linda Thom, who appeared at Friday's press conference with her husband Jamie Thom, said watching the videos was difficult. Morse said the family plans to release the videos on the Denis Preka Foundation website.

"The way Denis died, no one should go through that," Linda Thom said. "What I saw (on the videos) is terrifying."

Linda and Jamie Thom praised their son's friend, a woman who saw the Snapchat videos as they were being posted, and preserved them before turning them over to police. Since the videos were posted in Snapchat's My Story area, they would have been deleted after 24 hours.

Morse said he thought the videos were "possibly the most damaging piece of evidence," during the trial. "Denis suffered for up to five hours that night, and the main defendant in our trial was videotaping it on Snapchat as it was happening ... that was a really emotional, key piece of evidence to show what he was going through," he said.

Morse said he believed Oakland County Prosecutors were pursuing criminal charges in connection with Preka's death. Prosecutors did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, on the night Preka died, he met up with Paul Wiedmaier, a fellow student at Detroit Mercy, and made plans to sleep at Wiedmaier's home in Novi. Wiedmaier's parents were out of town, the suit said.

Preka asked his friend for Adderall or Ritalin to help him study for a test the next morning, Morse said. But Wiedmaier didn't have the drugs, and told Nicholas Remington and Connor Gibaratz about Preka's request, according to Morse.

Morse said Wiedmaier, Remington and Gibaratz gave Preka the ecstasy without telling him because they thought it would be funny to see how he reacted, Morse said.

But Gibaratz's attorney Ben Gonek said his client was cleared of liability at the end of the trial.

"The judge dismissed dismissed the case against Connor Gibaratz as she found there was no evidence to show that he had any liability," Gonek said.

Attempts to reach attorneys for the two other defendants Friday were not successful.

As side effects from the drugs hit Preka, the three men took videos of Preka throughout the night, Morse said. None of them tried to get medical attention as the side effects of the drug worsened, Morse said.

"They delayed calling 911 until it was too late," Morse said.

Preka's cause of death was found to be severe edema and congestion of his brain and lungs from drug intoxication, according to the lawsuit. Preka's parents said they believe he died sometime around 2 a.m., but the lawsuit claims Wiedmaier didn't call 911 until after 9 a.m., saying Preka was having trouble breathing. Preka's body had gone cold when police arrived, according to the complaint.

Preka's parents sued Wiedmaier, Remington and Gibaratz in 2020 and sought $100 million. The family asserted the defendants failed to intervene on Preka's behalf and to obtain medical help "when it was evident to any reasonable person over a substantial period of time, including while being videotaped, he was in distress and suffering."

Preka's parents have established the Denis Preka Foundation, which keeps alive their son's vision of a nonprofit that funds trips abroad for people with low incomes. His parents said they learned about his plans to start the organization by looking at his computer after he died.

The foundation also is facilitating a "Denis Friendship Bench" project. Linda Thom said she hopes the benches will be installed on high school and college campuses throughout Michigan to encourage young people to eschew social media, and be "real friends, the way we were when I was young."

"In this generation, it's all about the phones and the electronics," she said. "Parents should teach their children that friendship is more than social media. Friendship should be like, Let's have a coffee together, and sit down on the bench together. Maybe this person is going through hardship; help them. Go through that hardship together."

Jamie Thom warned against the dangers of students taking drugs like Adderall.

"It's a prescription medication, and if it's not yours, you shouldn't take it," he said. "And you're opening up an opportunity for something much more dangerous to happen — especially if you're surrounded by people who would find pleasure and entertainment in watching you suffer by taking something you didn't know you were taking."

ghunter@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2134

@GeorgeHunter_DN

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the first name of Paul Wiedmaier.