Safe party house death

The growing trend of safe party houses. Some parents believe it's better to allow teenagers to drink and do drugs at home, with adult supervision than to do it out with friends. <br/><br/>However,

Wednesday, July 20th 2005, 9:48 am

By: News On 6

The growing trend of safe party houses. Some parents believe it's better to allow teenagers to drink and do drugs at home, with adult supervision than to do it out with friends.

However, a Green Country woman says not only are those party houses not safe, she thinks those parents should face felony charges. She speaks from experience, because her son died in what she believes was just such a house. News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright has her story.

Cody Greenhaw[pictured] was a joy to his parents from the time he was little. He grew into a young man who went to church, played football and had lots of friends. His parents kept track of who those friends were, where they went and what they did. So, when Cody died during his junior year in high school with cocaine, valium, methadone and alcohol in his blood, their shock was almost as great as their grief.

Sarvea Greenhaw: "He could always make us laugh. It will just never be the same." Cody had gone to a birthday party at a house where Cody had been many times before. Cody's parents figured pizza and videogames and made sure parents would be there. They say kids at the party later told them parents were there, but allowed kids to drink and do drugs. "My big concern was are the parents home, never dreaming if they're home, they'll allow kids to drink, smoke pot or anything else."

Sareva says she's also learned kids were calling each other about Cody's death an hour before anyone called 911; no one went to the hospital with him or even called Cody's parents. Officers informed them at church that morning. "If a tragedy like that happened at my home, I'd first call 911, then the parents and if I wasn't in that ambulance, I'd be in my vehicle behind it, making sure I did everything to take care of that child."

The Greenhaws will never make sense of Cody's death, but do hope their future efforts will make a difference. "We just pray at this point we save others and kids will remember and turn their lives around."

The parents at the house where Cody died now face six misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, not related to the night of his death, but the atmosphere they're accused of having in their home.

The Greenhaws plan to meet with state lawmakers to see if they can get the law changed so that offense is a felony instead of a misdemeanor. They say there's no such thing as a safe party house.