Stillwater bar faces criminal charges in George Musser death

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read
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Two weeks before George Musser died from exposure after a night of drinking at a downtown Stillwater bar, his mother called the bar to warn that employees had been serving her underage son, according to a criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court.

The bar, Brian’s Bar and Grill, has been charged with providing liquor to a person under 21. The bar, located at 219 S. Main St., also is charged with permitting someone under 21 to consume. No names of bar employees or owners are specified in the complaint, which was filed last week by Stillwater City Attorney Joseph Kelly.

George Musser, 20, of Stillwater, a student at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, last was seen leaving Brian’s Bar around 2:10 a.m. on Christmas Eve. He left the bar — in sub-zero temperatures – wearing a flannel shirt, jeans, a stocking cap and shoes; he did not have his car keys or wallet. His family discovered him missing around 5 a.m. Christmas Eve. His body was found around 7 p.m. Christmas about two miles from the bar, near the 5400 block of Osgood Avenue North in Baytown Township.

The complaint spells out what happened at the bar prior to Musser’s death:

Musser entered Brian’s Bar and Grill on Dec. 23, approached a bartender/employee at Brian’s Bar and Grill and ordered alcoholic beverages.

“Brian’s Bar and Grill sold alcoholic beverages to (Musser) without asking for identification,” the complaint states. “(Musser) consumed a substantial amount of alcohol, resulting in (him) becoming extremely impaired, departing the bar, and walking in extreme temperatures until he collapsed, and ultimately, died.”

EARLIER: Cameras show Stillwater man found dead Sunday walked alone in cold after leaving bar, officials say

The bar sold additional alcoholic beverages to other underage individuals that evening and early the next morning, the complaint states.

Nancy Musser, Musser’s mother, had warned bar staff “approximately two weeks prior to Dec. 23 … that (Musser) was getting into the bar underage and getting drunk while there,” the complaint states. “(She) wanted to warn them that underage individuals know Brian’s Bar and Grill is a place where they can drink underage. The manager told Nancy that Brian’s Bar and Grill was aware of the problem.”

Brian’s Bar and Grill permitted George Musser and others, under the age of 21 years, to drink alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises and sold, furnished or gave alcoholic beverages to Musser and others under 21 years of age, according to the complaint.

Furnishing alcohol to an underage person is a gross misdemeanor offense. If found guilty, bar employees could face jail time or a fine of up to $3,000.

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A manager at Brian’s said Tuesday that she could not comment on the charges; a message left with the owner of the bar was not immediately returned.

Musser was the son of Nancy and Kent Musser; Kent Musser is the director of orchestras at Stillwater Area High School.

“To know George Musser was to love him,” according to his obituary. “He had the most wonderful quality of being able to immediately put you at ease with a kind, welcoming word and a sincere, strong, all-encompassing hug. To say he will be missed doesn’t even begin to express the depth to which he touched the lives of the people he met and knew, and the everlasting impression he made upon them.”

He is survived by his parents and four siblings.

An online fundraiser for the Musser family has raised more than $61,000.