Two former University of Pennsylvania students have pleaded guilty for their role in a 2017 fraternity hazing ritual incident that left Pennsylvania State University student Timothy Piazza dead.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office announced that Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, who held leadership positions in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, have pleaded guilty to 14 counts of hazing and a single count of reckless endangerment. The two men are expected to be sentenced on Oct. 1 for the misdemeanor charges.
Piazza was Made to Participate in 'Gauntlet' of Drinking Games
The Attorney General's Office said that Young was president of the fraternity during the 2017 incident while Casey served as the vice president and pledge master at the time. Authorities noted that the pair "participated in and facilitated the hazing event" which led to Piazza's death.
Piazza took part in the fraternity's bid acceptance night on Feb 2, 2017, where he had to partake in "the gauntlet" – an obstacle course where pledges are made to drink alcohol at a fast pace as they make their way through different drinking stations in an attempt to get them "drunk in a very short amount of time."
Piazza Died After Falling Head-First Down Stairs of Fraternity
The 19-year-old sophomore then fell down the stairs of his fraternity — tumbling head-first down 15 basement steps — after consuming a deadly amount of alcohol. It was determined that his death was caused by traumatic brain injuries and spleen damage.
Video footage leading up to the event showed Piazza being carried upstairs and placed on a couch, as fraternity members slapped and poured liquid on his face in an effort to wake him up. He was also seen staggering drunk around the living room and hitting his head on the hardwood floor and an iron railing leading up to the second floor of the fraternity house.
Piazza was left on a couch in the fraternity's basement and did not receive treatment until the next morning. Piazza died a few days later. A fraternity member was also charged for tampering with and deleting some of the surveillance footage from inside the fraternity following the teen's death.
Each count of hazing pertains to one of the 14 members of the group rushing at Beta Theta Pi with Piazza. The reckless endangerment charge relates to Piazza specifically. All charges are misdemeanors.
