Attorney General Declines Reopen Novi Snapchat Death

A Michigan death case that has haunted one family for seven years hit another wall in late April. Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office decided not to reopen the criminal case over the 2019 death of Denis Preka, a University of Detroit Mercy student who collapsed after allegedly being given party drugs instead of Adderall at a Novi house. The case matters because it has always sat in an ugly gap — a young man died, videos of his decline were posted to Snapchat, but no one has been criminally convicted. Now the state’s top law office has basically said the evidence still is not enough to restart it. ### Who was Denis Preka? Preka was a 21-year-old student from Grosse Pointe Farms. On March 18, 2019, he was studying at a friend’s house in Novi and asked for Adderall, but court records and later reporting say he was allegedly given MMDA and MDA instead. He died the next day, one day before his 22nd birthday. ### Why does Snapchat keep coming up? Because the case was never just about a drug death. The family says people around Preka recorded and shared videos of his decline on Snapchat while he became incoherent and slipped toward unconsciousness. That detail turned the case into something much bigger locally — not just what he was given, but what the people around him did while he was in obvious distress. ### Was anyone ever charged? Yes. Nicholas Remington was charged in 2019 with delivery of a controlled substance causing death, a charge that can carry life in prison. But the prosecution collapsed in 2022 after Oakland County prosecutors said a former assistant prosecutor had withheld evidence, and reporting also says a judge had ruled Snapchat evidence inadmissible. That combination blew a hole in the criminal case. ### So what changed in 2024 and 2025? Novi police took another look after the family brought forward more Snapchat material tied to search warrants. Police Chief Erick Zinser said detectives resubmitted a warrant request after reviewing that information. For a while, that gave the family a real opening — maybe the new digital evidence could revive the case. ### Why did the attorney general still say no? The short version is that the AG’s office did not think the reopened file solved the old problems. Nessel’s office told reporters it sympathized with the family and even agreed with their belief that foul play led to Preka’s death, but it still could not prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt. ### Didn’t the family win in court already? They did — but in civil court, not criminal court. In August 2024, a Wayne County jury awarded Preka’s estate $75 million in a wrongful-death case. That is a huge verdict, and it publicly validated the family’s account in a major way. But civil cases use a lower burden of proof, so a big damages award does not force prosecutors to file criminal charges. ### What happens now? Preka’s mother, Linda Thom, says she is turning to federal authorities. She has said she contacted the FBI and hopes the federal system will do what Michigan’s criminal system has not. At the same time, a grievance complaint tied to her allegations against Oakland County prosecutors was closed on April 15 for lack of evidence. ### Bottom line This case now sits in a hard place — morally vivid, legally stuck. The state is not reopening it, the civil case is over, and the family’s next move is federal. For them, that means the fight is not finished. But for Michigan prosecutors, this looks a lot like the end.