Four Oklahoma State University fraternity members have been charged with the unlawful disposal of a carcass after a dead longhorn was found on their rival fraternity's lawn.
The animal was discovered Dec. 1 on the lawn of the FarmHouse Fraternity at Oklahoma State University with its stomach cut open, and the words "F--k FH" branded on its side. The incident occurred the day before the OSU Cowboys played the University of Texas Longhorns.
The Two Frats were Involved in a 'Prank War'
The men charged in the incident — Bennet Fady, 20, Luke Ackerly, 19, Brody Shelby, 19, and Andrew King, 19 — are members of the Alpha Gamma Rho, fraternity, which had been involved in a "prank war" with FarmHouse, according to court records obtained by The Oklahoman.
The four men were charged with the misdemeanor on Dec. 28, punishable by up to a year imprisoned or a fine up to $500, and requested to appear in court by Jan. 24 to avoid an arrest warrant. They appeared in court Jan. 17 and each pleaded not guilty.
Afterward, they were booked into the Payne County jail, where they remained for about an hour and a half before being released on own recognizance bonds. They are scheduled to appear again in court March 11.
Longhorn Had Died of Natural Causes
Law enforcement later learned through a necropsy report the cow died of disease 36 hours prior, and had not been killed to put it on the FarmHouse fraternity lawn.
Stillwater police said the four frat members were charged after reviewing surveillance footage, discovering evidence on the farm the longhorn had been taken from, and interviewing members of both fraternities.
Police noted surveillance video from the fraternity showed a white Ford F150 with a trailer dump the longhorn onto the lawn. Police saw three people in the video dumping the cow.
During the investigation, police said "there was a significant amount of collective lack of cooperation from the Alpha Gamma Rho organization." Through a search warrant, police identified four members of AGR who they believe were involved in the dumping of the longhorn.
Police said days before the incident, Bennett Fady discussed the plan with members as a prank for FarmHouse. Police said Fady was discouraged from executing the plan by several members of the fraternity. According to police, the four suspects then asked another member to borrow their truck to get the cow. The member told police he allowed Fady to use his truck.
Police said the four went through efforts to conceal the pickup used in the incident. Instead of returning it to its owner after dumping the longhorn, police said the suspects parked it on the east side of the farm where the dead cow was taken and told the member that's where it was located. The area where the truck was parked was a grassy area surrounded by trees and not commonly used for storing vehicles, police said.
The pickup was then driven to the owner's home in the middle of the night, at the "suggestion of the fraternity, to avoid detection," police said. The location was over an hour away from Stillwater.
