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Cops: Teen refused to help parents of girl who died

BY LAURA RIVERA | laura.rivera@newsday.com

June 24, 2008

As the father of Natalie Ciappa tried to breathe life into his 18-year-old daughter who lay unconscious on a couch, police said the teenage host of the house party in Seaford refused to help.

Instead, Seewoo Sung cleared away the empty bottles and beer cans strewn about the recreation room floor as he tried to hide the signs of the previous night's gathering, police said.

Police Monday arrested Sung, 19, of South Street, and charged him with tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 1 to 4 years in jail, police said.

Sung is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Hempstead. According to records, Sung was charged with assault in April 2008 and he pleaded guilty to a May 2007 assault charge. He was also charged with criminal possession of marijuana in August 2007, according to records.

At a news conference at police headquarters in Mineola Monday, Det. Sgt. Gregory Quinn of the homicide squad said Sung and Ciappa, one of at least a dozen youths who attended the party, were friends from the area.

Yet Sung did not assist Natalie's father, Victor Ciappa, when he arrived around 11 a.m. Saturday and asked for help performing CPR, Quinn said.

"We don't know what his intentions were," he said, referring to Sung. "He refused to help. He was continuing to clean up the garage and remove evidence so that the police department and his mother did not know he was having a party."

Ciappa was taken to New Island Hospital in Bethpage and pronounced dead at 11:39 a.m., police said. The cause of death is unknown at this time, police said. Detectives are awaiting the results of an autopsy and a toxicology report.

Police said they had no evidence to indicate that Sung's mother, who they believe was home on Friday night, knew a party was being held at the house. The recreation room, where the party took place, was converted from an attached garage.

Quinn asked parents of teens who went to the party to contact police.

At Plainedge High School, where Ciappa was a senior, students yesterday grappled with her death.

Ciappa planned to study criminal psychology at SUNY Old Westbury in the fall.

Staff writer April Warren contributed to this story.