DESTIN, Fla. — The couple facing charges in connection to the death of a Forest Hills Eastern High School student in April 2023 are pleading not guilty.
17-year-old Anthony Holman died on April 4, 2023, while on spring break in Destin, Florida.
Jeremiah and Susan Benedict of Grand Rapids are both charged with Neglect of a Child with great bodily harm in connection to Holman's death.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office charged both of them in August 2023.
According to documents obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Susan and Jeremiah took a group of teens, including Holman, on vacation with them to a condo in Destin.
Police said Holman had fallen to his death from the balcony between 2 and 4 a.m. on April 4.
When police asked Jeremiah if Holman had been drinking, he responded by saying, "I don't know, it's possible."
Jeremiah said he and his wife were in another room until they returned late that night. He said the teens were on the balcony when he came home.
Susan told police that there was beer in the fridge and the kids were taking a couple "here and there" but she was "trying to discourage them."
The Benedict's nephew, who was 18, told police he and Holman were "drinking a lot of beer, a good amount." He described himself as being "pretty drunk."
He told police that while he and Holman were on the balcony, he tried to wake him up to turn his speaker off but Holman was "out cold."
The nephew was asked if Holman was drunk enough to have fallen off the balcony and he replied "I don't know, probably."
Pictures found on their nephew's phone show him and Holman wearing empty beer boxes as hats on their heads and holding beer and liquor bottles in each hand. The last picture taken was of Holman sitting on the couch on the balcony with a liquor bottle and shot glasses on the table in front of him.
The autopsy showed Holman's blood alcohol concentration of .206, he also had THC in his system.
The sheriff's office said the adults were charged because they failed their responsibility as the victim's caregivers to provide supervision and care to maintain the victim's physical health.
"Anthony was someone that everyone loved. He had a wonderful smile, warm and gentle spirit, and was so kind to everyone. It is impossible to comprehend a loss like this," Forest Hills Eastern High School Principal Amy Pallo said of Holman when he passed away.
Jeremiah and Susan will be back in court in April.
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