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Charges To Stand In Deadly Party Game Case?

JOLIET, Ill. (CBS/WBBM) -- A Will County judge is set to decide Tuesday whether felony reckless conduct and battery charges will be dismissed against a young man and woman, who were charged after a bet on a party game led to man's death.

As WBBM Newsradio 780's David Roe reports, at a party in Crest Hill on Sept. 25 of last year, Jimmy Mounts, 27, of Romeoville started offering other guests $5 if they could take a punch from 21-year-old Tiffany Startz, of Joliet.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780's David Roe reports

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John A. Powell, 25, who was 5-foot-8 and weighed 140 pounds, took Mounts' wager and stood before the 5-foot-5, 142-pound Startz, police said.

Witnesses told police Startz swung and hit Powell once in the face. He collected his money from Mounts and continued talking and interacting with others for a few minutes before he collapsed, police said.

He was rushed to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 9:47 p.m.

Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said Powell died of a brain hemorrhage caused by blunt-force trauma. Medical reports indicate a vein in Powell's neck opened up when his head snapped back and led to the brain injury.

The Joliet Herald-New contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire

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