Death at Platinum Plus Still Under Investigation
Joseph M. Collura died of asphyxiation due to pressure on his neck, says Greenville County Deputy Coroner Tom Selfridge, but County deputies are still unsure exactly what happened to the 36-year-old father of two.
What they know is that Collura took his last breaths shortly after getting bounced from the Platinum Plus strip club Thursday night:
Bouncers had responded to an incident inside the nightclub and had taken Collura outside and left him there, according to Lt. Tim Ridgeway.
A short while later, a friend of the man noticed that he didn’t seem to be breathing while under the front-door awning, Ridgeway said.
Deputies were called to the club at 805 Frontage Road alongside Interstate 385 just before 9 p.m., Deputy Matthew Armstrong said. A deputy wrote in an incident report that the man had blood on his nose.
Collura was pronounced dead at Greenville Memorial Hospital just after 10 p.m. Although the Coroner’s Office has identified asphyxiation as the cause of death, pending toxicology results may help shed additional light on the events leading up to Collura’s sudden death.
Investigators are conducting extensive interviews with Platinum Plus patrons and employees, and are reviewing surveillance video from the club. No charges have been filed.
Joseph Collura leaves behind his wife of 12 years, Trina Skasko Collura, and two young daughters. Memorial contributions may be made to the Collura Children Memorial Fund c/o SunTrust Bank, 1630 John B. White, Sr. Boulevard, Spartanburg, SC 29301.
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17 Responses to “Death at Platinum Plus Still Under Investigation”
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I am wondering how toxicology results will shed light on how Collura’s neck was crushed. Do you get a free pass in greenville to kill someone? If that person is under the influence of illegal drugs.
Really? You don’t understand how this man’s state of intoxication could shed light on, and I quote, “the events leading up to Collura’s sudden death”?
There is no suggestion here that level of intoxication should have any bearing on the pursuit of a legal case. You are being disingenuous.
My point is the events leading up to his murder don’t matter. This all stems from Collura’s reentry to the club without a drivers license. He got a D.U.I. a few weeks earlier and had his dl taken. He had no problem the first time he entered earlier in the evening. That what makes this so senseless. A thirty-six year old regular of this establishment being choked to death. From an argument started over his lack of identification. When hours earlier he was granted admission with out it.
Then we will have to agree to disagree, Kermit. As a crime writer, every detail matters in piecing together what happened. It may not matter morally or even legally, but when someone dies under suspicious circumstances, it is an assault on the rule of law and the public should know the full story.
Drunks and people who get high get bounced from bars all the time. How drunk and high he was may factor into how the conflict escalated and you know it “Kermit”
To whom ever it concerns……this gentleman was a very dear friend of mine & also my boss. Yes he was a regular at this establishment on a weekly basis for the last 6 yrs…so you cannot tell me they didn’t know who he was. Intoxicated or not, he did not deserve to die this way.And I have known this man for 12 yrs.and I have a very hard time believing he would get physical when he was surrounded by 3-4 bouncers…..stupid he was not…he was a very devoted father of 2 gorgeous little girls that now have to go on without their daddy.His office walls were covered in finger paintings from his lil girls…RIP my friend…you are sadly missed at home & at work.YoYo…Werd
Why was this married father of “2 gorgeous little girls” doing attending a club of this type on a weekly basis for the last 6 years? Why wasn’t he at home with his wife and children?
ncsempl-
A) No one said he “deserved” it.
B) Many a drunk/high person who couldn’t take me tried anyway.
MammaMia-
Lot’s of guys hit the strip club, though weekly may be a bit much for a man with kids. Mainly because the money is better spent on them, but otherwise i see no problem with enjoying risque entertainment on occasion.
I don’t necessarily think there is anything wrong with enjoying risque entertainment on occasion either…..BUT if you are married with small children, that type of behavior is just asking for trouble. And on a “weekly” basis? Give me a break! Have you given any thought to the emotional trauma it might be causing the “bouncers”? They are human beings also, just trying to do their job. Or to the patrons who witnessed this whole incident? This is something they will have to live with for the rest or their lives. Obviously if the man got a DUI in the same month as this incident there is a problem!
I can’t believe charges have still not been filed in this case. I am sick about it. I am wondering what the local police are waiting for.
At minimum, I hope the family files a civil suit against the club.
Joe Collura was a great guy. A great friend of mine and he loved his family. People, please don’t make excuses for murder or try and justify a wrong with another wrong.
We need to draw the line here.
Again no one made excuses for murder, though I’ll say I’m getting a little tired of friends of his who didn’t give a rat ass about his drinking when he got picked up for a DUI and then was still drinking claiming they cared about him so much. If you cared about him you’d have tried to help him prior to this.
I have worked in 16 different strip clubs across the country including Platinum Plus. I’ve never seen more violent and hot headed bouncers anywhere in this country or Canada. Bouncers at Platinum Greenville are never disciplined for injuring patrons asked to leave – for this reason it is considered cool to ‘f-up’ the customer. I know of numerous occasions when an ambulance was called to take ejected customers to the emergency room. Platinum bouncers have a well documented history of hurting people unnecessarily – the management and owners have allowed it for years. Therefore the management is JUST as responsible.
Wake up Greenville -STAND up for decency! This club is a prostitution recruitment outfit. The management for years now has called the waitress staff ‘hooker trainees’ not as a joke but as a matter of real club policy!
Dirty money, Prostitution, Violence, Underage Drinking and Drugs. I’m in the business, I’ve worked this cesspool club and I can say without reservation this is the one club chain that is the absolute dirtiest and crookedest there is.
No arrests in this case?
Something is fishy with our local, law enforcement!
My sympathy and prayers go out to this victims family.
If you know of this please and have evidence contact me through the contact form.
[...] been six weeks since 36-year-old Joseph Collura died of asphyxiation after being bounced from the Platinum Plus strip club in Greenville. Now, Jason Alan Purcell, the [...]
um “Intheknow” i worked at Platinum Plus in greenville also for two years and i was nerver called a hooker in trianing or whatever…they never asked me to dance or anything. Jason Purcell was a good friend and im sure he can never explain how sorry he is!!! and girls that get caugh doing anything but lap dances are not allowed to return to the club. not saying its a graet enviroment to be in but its also not as bad as some ppl think
If anyone that has worked there are works there wants to be interviewed about this story let me know.
Hey nannerz – your either stupid or incredibly naive. Of course management doesn’t say that to your face. They say it behind your back and lough it up – they’ve called the wait staff hooker trainees for over 10 years.
Also: You need to ask one of your dancer friends what goes on in the couch room – I’ve seen it OVER AND OVER with my own eyes. I’ve worked in three different Ken Wood clubs over the last 10 years (any guesses who I am?) Your blindly defending a violent asshole that was only ’sweet’ to you because your the opposite sex. Everyone knows that Jason is jacked up on testosterone and out to prove something every night – has he ever NOT thrashed the shit out of someone he’s ‘bouncing’?
Jason deserves to go to prison, Platinum plus management should also be arrested and charged in addition along with the owners and upper level management for allowing this to go on for SEVERAL YEARS now.