Eleven months after the suicide of Elizabeth Mun following a party in Andover, the mother of the teen who hosted the gathering has broken her silence about the case, revealing new details about what led to the death.
In an interview with the Andover Townsman, a sister publication of The Eagle-Tribune, Laurie Zimmerman said she was speaking out because her children continue to be negatively affected by misconceptions about the death of Mun, 16, of Wellesley.
Mun, a Concord Academy classmate of Zachary Zimmerman's, was found unresponsive in Hussey Brook Pond early on Feb. 15, 2009, after leaving a party at the Zimmermans' William Street home. The medical examiner ruled that Mun's death was a suicide and that her consumption of alcohol was not a contributing factor.
Relying on documents obtained as part of the court case against her son Zachary, Zimmerman told the Townsman that Mun had been told by her parents they were splitting up and had written three apparent suicide notes before coming to the house party. She also said the documents said Mun had no alcohol in her system.
Zimmerman showed the court documents to the Townsman, but the weekly newspaper did not view all of the documents in detail and was not permitted to make copies of them.
"My heart breaks for this young lady," Zimmerman said. "We were so sorry for her. ... We chose to stay quiet so that this young woman could be buried with dignity, and no one came forward and told the truth about what she did. It all fell on Zachary.
"She was an acquaintance, not a close friend. She was not invited. She was a troubled girl who showed up here with a mission, and that was to say goodbye to her boyfriend, who happened to be here that night."
After the incident, Zachary wasn't allowed to attend graduation with his classmates and was rejected for admission to several colleges after Concord Academy had him write letters informing the colleges of his arrest for allegedly providing alcohol to minors, according to his mother. Zachary and his younger sister, Zoe, an Andover High student, have been shunned and called names by their peers, said Laurie Zimmerman.
Three notes were left
One of the court documents Zimmerman showed the Townsman was the report on Mun's autopsy. It said Mun did not have any alcohol in her system the night of Feb. 14 but had slit her wrists and ingested Ritalin, a medication usually prescribed for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.
Zimmerman also showed three apparent suicide notes written by Mun, marked as court evidence. Zimmerman said Mun addressed one note to her boyfriend and slipped it into his pocket at the party.
"This young lady was crying for help ... (Mun's suicide) was planned long before she came to my house," said Zimmerman. "The question of why did she do it — she didn't do anything because of my son."
Steven O'Connell, spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney's office, said the office does not comment on pending cases and also would not comment out of respect for the Mun family. Jessica Connors, prosecutor in the case, and Sue Lee Mun, Elizabeth's mother, were not available for comment.
Zachary Zimmerman, 19, pleaded not guilty last August to charges of providing alcohol to minors at the Feb. 14 overnight party, which is said to have involved fewer than 20 people. A pre-trial conference was held this week and the case was continued to Feb. 8, said O'Connell.
Zimmerman said that on the night of the party, her son had driven another student, Morgan Ingari, to a liquor store, where she purchased beer and vodka with a fake ID.
Ingari, 18, was also charged with providing alcohol to minors and admitted to sufficient facts in the case last August. Her case was continued without a finding for two years and she was placed on probation.
Zimmerman said her son pleaded not guilty in August so the family could gain access to court documents they had not seen, hoping to get answers.
Called to come home
Laurie Zimmerman, 49, who described herself as a homebody who rarely travels, said it was a surprise Valentine's Day getaway to New Hampshire with her boyfriend that took her out of Andover on the evening of Feb. 14.
The couple was awakened by an early-morning phone call from Zachary, asking them to come home.
The party hosted by her son was meant to be a small gathering of Zachary's Concord Academy classmates.
"As always happens, kids bring kids," Zimmerman said.
Based on her reading of the court documents she obtained, here is what Zimmerman said happened the night of Feb. 14 into Feb. 15:
Earlier that evening, Elizabeth Mun had gone out to dinner with her parents at the Framingham Country Club. Later, Elizabeth had a friend pick her up and drive her to Boston, unknown to her parents.
Mun placed a call from Boston to her boyfriend, Josh Reed, who was at the Zimmermans', asking if she could see him. Zachary Zimmerman initially told Josh that Mun was not welcome but eventually said yes after other teens at the party urged him to allow Elizabeth to be with her boyfriend on Valentine's Day.
Mun took a taxi from Boston to Andover, showing up in shorts and Ugg boots, and Mun and her boyfriend spent the remainder of the evening in the house, apart from the rest of the teens.
Around 5 a.m., Mun told her boyfriend she had to leave. After Mun left, Josh woke Zachary, saying she had left and "something doesn't feel right.".
As she wandered away from the Zimmerman home, Mun used her cell phone to call her parents in Wellesley.
Zimmerman showed a transcript of an interview at the District Attorney's office with Elizabeth's parents, Edward C. Mun and Dr. Sue Lee Mun. In the interview, Sue Mun said during the call Elizabeth seemed to be asking for help and sounded depressed and under the influence. Sue Mun said she had never noticed any signs that her daughter wanted to hurt herself.
Came on a mission
Elizabeth Mun had written three apparent suicide notes. Two of them — one to her parents and another to her brother and a cousin — were left in plain sight at her home in Wellesley. Mun slipped the third into her boyfriend's pocket.
"That's why she came here, to say goodbye (to Josh)," said Zimmerman. "She didn't come up here for a party, she came up here for a mission."
The week after Mun's death, all of the party-goers faced disciplinary action from Concord Academy, Zimmerman said, but none as harsh as Zachary, who was suspended for a year.
"The school didn't wait to hear any of the details (of what happened)," said Zimmerman.
Day students who were at the party were suspended for five days, and boarding students for 10. Morgan Ingari was suspended for six months, Zimmerman said.
Zachary finished the one high school credit he needed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and was given his Concord Academy diploma privately by the headmaster in his office, said Zimmerman. "He was not permitted to take part in any school-related functions, including commencement," said a spokeswoman for the school.
Concord Academy also refused to release Zachary's transcript until he wrote to all of the colleges he had been accepted to, including several Ivy League schools, telling them of his arrest, said Zimmerman.
One by one, rejection letters arrived from the colleges, said Zimmerman. Only the University of Vermont accepted Zachary.
Zachary has settled into studies at the environmental school at UVM, said Zimmerman, and hopes to become an environmental lawyer or lobbyist.
Zachary was not interviewed by the Townsman. "I chose for him to not be involved, because this has weighed heavily on him and he just wants this to be over," his mother said in an email.
"At the end of the day, if you remove a preconceived suicide from the equation, this was just a few kids having a small, quiet party. I do not condone the fact that they had a party, but my son should not be held responsible for Elizabeth's troubles."
