Crime & Safety
Update: Suspect in Kennesaw Binge Drinking Party Released
A 16-year-old Cherokee County teen who attended the party died.
Update 7:13 p.m.
Kyle Walker, the Kennesaw man whose decision to serve alcohol to underage party guests may have contributed to the death of a Woodstock teen, was released from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on a $5,000 bond hours after he turned himself in, according to online jail records.
Original report
The Kennesaw man whose decision to serve alcohol to underage party guests may have contributed to the death of a Cherokee County teen surrendered this morning to Cobb authorities.
Kyle Walker, 20, was arrested at 10:20 a.m. today, according to online jail records.
While Kennesaw police do not know how Walker "came in possession of the alcoholic beverages," authorities said in a warrant that he provided vodka and rum to James Matthew Cole, Stewart Nick Murray and Alexsander Fraire, and encouraged "the chugging of these beverages" during a July 11 party at his Live Oak Drive residence.
Fraire is the 16-year-old Woodstock boy who was found unresponsive the next morning in the Towne Lake apartment where Cole and Murray lived.
"Based on testimony from Cole and Murray, before Fraire left 1711 Live Oak Drive, (he) was vomiting, unable to walk or talk and had labored breathing," police said in the warrant. "The subject had to be carried to the vehicle."
Cole and Murray, both 20, drove Fraire from Kennesaw to their apartment, according to the warrant. Walker was with them.
"Once at the apartment complex," police said in the warrant, "(Fraire) had to be carried to the apartment by Murray, Cole and Walker."
Around 7:30 a.m. July 12, detectives with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office responded to a call at the Terraces at Towne Lake Apartments, where Fraire was found unresponsive, Cherokee sheriff's Lt. Jay Baker said at the time.
"Based on the investigation of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office," Kennesaw authorities said in the Cobb arrest warrant, "it is believed the consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the death of the juvenile."
Walker faces multiple charges, including three counts of furnishing alcoholic beverages to persons under 21, one count of alcohol possession and one count of reckless conduct. All are misdemeanor offenses.
Cole and Murray each face one count of alcohol possession. They have not turned themselves in yet, according to online jail records.
Stay with Kennesaw Patch for updates.
Related content
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.