'Our hearts are broken,' USC freshman remembered
The 18-year-old University of South Carolina freshman who was found dead at an off-campus residence commonly used by fraternity members was remembered as a polite and respectable kid and an astounding athlete.
Charlie Terreni Jr., the son of a Columbia attorney Charlie Terreni Sr., was found dead Wednesday at a home at 2319 Lee St.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts released his identity Thursday and said a morning autopsy revealed no signs of traumatic injury. Final results and a cause of death will depend on toxicology test results, Watts said. Watts said Terreni was a USC freshman who lived on campus.
Neighbors said there was a party at the Lee Street house Tuesday but that it wasn’t particularly loud or noisy that night. A keg of beer on Tuesday sat on the front porch. Another was inside the front room.
Thursday morning, S.C. Rep. Kirkman Finlay III asked for a moment of silence on the House floor for Terreni.
“We are so terribly sorry for their loss,” Finlay said later Thursday. “What a wonderful young man with such a bright future. Not only is this a loss for the family but the community and the state as well. As a parent of three children, my heart goes out to (the Terreni family). We know he is in a better place.”
Terreni, who would have turned 19 on March 31, graduated in June 2014 from Cardinal Newman Catholic School, where he was the captain of the soccer team his senior year. According to a statement released by school officials, Terreni was a well-liked student and was part of the school’s soccer team the year they won the state championship.
School officials are holding a special Mass for Terreni, and the school’s chapel has been opened for private prayer and counselors for students.
According to South Carolina United Football Club’s website, Terreni was selected to be a part of the 2010-11 South Carolina Olympic Development Players state team – an upper echelon of club soccer within the state.
Family friend Mike Couick, the president and CEO of S.C. Electrical Cooperatives, said he often saw Terreni and his younger brother, Shand, playing soccer in the front yard of their home with their father.
Couick said while Terreni’s father was helping coach his two sons in soccer, Terreni’s mother was not far off, making sure “all the trains were on time.”
Couick, a former state Senate staffer, worked with Charlie Terreni Sr. when Terreni was chief counsel to former S.C. Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler.
Peeler said Charlie Terreni Jr. was born while his father worked for him.
“He was a cute little boy,” Peeler said. “The Terreni family is a close family, and anyone who is around them for any period of time certainly knows that. They are good people.”
In a statement posted to the university’s website Thursday, USC President Harris Pastides asked students to support each other and the Terreni family.
“I offer my personal condolences and prayers for the families who are grieving,” Pastides said in the statement. “May our compassion relieve a small part of their burden.”
At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Columbia police and the Richland County Coroner’s Office received a call that an 18-year-old male USC student had been found dead inside a home at 2319 Lee St., not far from USC’s campus.
Following news of the death, the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity issued a statement saying the USC chapter of the fraternity has been put on administrative suspension and the chapter has ceased operations.
“The Fraternity’s thoughts and prayers are with the family of this young man and the brothers of Xi Chapter,” Justin True, a Pi Kappa spokesman, said in the statement.
This is the second time this school year that an off-campus house used by fraternity members has drawn so much attention.
In December 2014, several members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity were forced to move out of their Devine Street house after police reported prescription drugs were being distributed out of the house. There also were student misconduct and hazing allegations.
Police raided the home in October and found “large quantities of drug paraphernalia, illegal prescription pills, and sums of cash,” according to an email sent to alumni, members and parents associated with the fraternity by Mitchell Wilson, the fraternity’s executive director.
A police report describing the raid said the house had a strong odor of marijuana as well as nearly 100 men dressed in white shirts, soaking wet. Police said many of the men were under the legal drinking age but there were “large amounts of alcohol” in the house.
The national council was also investigating unapproved spending of $4,000 to pay members’ legal fees and $17,000 to repay the charter’s treasurer for a loan. National fraternity officials are also examining cash withdrawals from chapter accounts where there was no documentation on how the money was spent.
This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 1:22 PM with the headline "'Our hearts are broken,' USC freshman remembered."