The February Penn State fraternity hazing death has recently made
national news as details come out:
[Timothy] Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore and pledge at Penn State's Beta Theta Pi fraternity, died on Feb. 4, after he fell down the stairs during a pledge ceremony at the house on the night of Feb. 2. Fraternity members did not call 911 until the morning of Feb. 3, about 12 hours after Piazza's fall, according to a report on the grand jury's investigation. Piazza's death "was the direct result of traumatic brain injuries," according to the forensic pathologist.
The eight or nine full-color and full-broadcast-quality cameras at Beta Theta Pi showed that Piazza’s skin had turned gray by the morning of the 911 call, Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller told ABC News. The color change was especially noticeable in the final 40 minutes before the 911 call -- the time period prosecutors call the "cover-up" -- during which the students allegedly wanted to make Piazza appear healthier than he was by trying to dress him in clean clothes, Parks Miller said.
More from
Philly.com:
After his initial fall, members of the fraternity moved him to a couch "and hovered over him for hours" but did not seek emergency help until the next morning, about 12 hours later, [District Attorney Stacy] Parks Miller said, though injuries were visible to his stomach and head.
According to the grand jury presentment, Kordel Davis, a newly initiated fraternity member, told other members that Piazza needed to go to the hospital late on the night of the party. He said he was rebuffed by Neuman, who shoved him and said that the members had the situation under control.
Overnight, Piazza fell several more times as he tried to move about. He lastly fell a second time down the basement stairs, where he would remain for hours before the fraternity members discovered him in the morning, Parks Miller said.
His chest was bare, he was breathing heavily, and he had blood on his face, according to the presentment.
2016 La Costa Canyon graduate and long-time Olivenhain resident Luke Visser is among the 8 of the 18 suspects
facing the most serious charges:
Luke Visser, 19, of Encinitas, California: Aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter, simple assault, reckless endangerment, hazing, alcohol-related charges.
nobody held open his mouth and forced too much booze down his throat. Kid made a bad choice, dies as a result. It is nobody fault but his own. I was a freshman once, pledged, dropped out when thinks got stupid like described above. Too much booze and bad choiced killed his circle jerk bros have to live with that but they did not kill him.
ReplyDeleteThe state would like to excuse this juror, your honor......
Delete8:57,
DeleteThey stepped over the body of a young man who had blood foaming out of his mouth. They decided affirmatively not to call for help, because it might bring scrutiny on the fraternity.
They let their buddy die because calling for help might interfere with their ability to continue boozing and scoring with chicks.
Deplorable.
You are right 11:27, their behavior was deplorable. But they were all very drunk when they decided to not to call for help and he was still alive and not bloody then. They thought he was just another too drunk bro. The kid died as a result of his own bad choice, sad, but no reason to ruin the other kids lives.
DeleteThey weren't too drunk to move him to a couch after his first fall and hover over him for hours. They weren't too drunk to recognize he was in big trouble. They should have gotten him to a hospital as one kid urged or better, to have called 911.
DeleteSome of them convinced the others to defer to their superior medical knowledge as kinesiology majors.
DeleteThey sit in lectures about how to massage and stretch football players. Based on that, they convinced others to let their buddy die.
There absolutely is reason to ruin some lives over this.
Stupidity, neglect, immaturity, irresponsibility, reckless endangerment, peer pressure. When he first fell, they should have called 9-1-1. They were protecting themselves and their fraternity's reputation. That backfired in the worst way possible.
ReplyDelete2:04- You must be the parents of this kid or a friend to say what you said. So they should not call 911 because it might hurt them and ruin their lives? Fuck that. Heard it before when it comes to entitled kids and parents. Honestly, I am sick of that kind of rationale. He deserves everything he gets, and so do the rest of them. What a bunch of B.S. No one deserves to die this way. End of story.
ReplyDeleteThey did not kill him. Being too drunk and falling down the stairs did. End of Story.
DeleteNever said they should not call 911. They should have but not calling 911 is not a crime, see the charges. They did call 911 when they found him, after falling. Before the fall he was a passed out drunk, like every other party, there is always a passed out person somewhere at a frst party.
Entitlement is trying to pin the death on anyone other than the one who willfully got too drunk, fell, and dies later of the injuries. No one forced him to drink that much and no one pushed him down the stairs. They were not trying to kill him as you suggest, they were friends. They will walk with probabtion at most and AA for tryi g to cover it up for 40 minutes, maybe. If it turns out they forcefully made him drink, then jail time.
Want to live. Don't be a drunk that gets so wasted you need your drunk friends to save your life.
The dead kids parents are more to blame than his frat bros.
Pay attention. Read the facts. He fell down the stairs twice. The other guys should have called 911 after the first fall. One guy suggested that and was shoved away.
DeleteKids do stupid things. When there are grave consequences, kids don't get a pass because they're kids.
ReplyDeleteThe law disagrees to an extent.
DeleteThey are adults. 18yo = adult.
The Greek System on campuses has always acted like this. Their supposed elitism is just that. Supposed.
ReplyDeleteIt is past time to relegate this system of entitlement to the trash heap where it belongs.
Their imagined brotherhood has no value when their brothers are forced to imbibe to life endangering amounts if they want to make it through the pledge process.
This so-called brotherhood is nothing of the kind.
Up next will be a defense like that case in Texas where a teenager got drunk and drove and and killed someone. His explanation was that he was so rich he had no foundation to make a decision on whether to drive or not when so impaired.
These 'brothers' suffer from the same dis-ease. Affluent young lives suffer from Affluenza. Just perfect.
A crime was committed by negligence. Those poor grieving parents are the latest in a long line of young lives wasted over becoming a part of a brotherhood that is pure fantasy.
Shameful beyond any rationalization. They should all serve prescribed time, just any other person would who assisted in causing the death.
Affluenza is not an excuse. Parenting, or the lack thereof, is not either.
Lock them all up and for years. There is no excuse. Affluenza, my ass. BS.
Have any of the young adults even pleaded not guilty let alone claim they where too rich to understand? They are adults, their parents money has nothing to do with this case. You just made up a bunch of crap, attributed it to this case, and got all in a huff about it.
ReplyDeleteI did not see negligence listed as a charge.
You and I may not like the greek system but it works for people that cant make friends on their own and need the networking.
Or at a school where there's zero social life unless you're in a fraternity or sorority.
Delete7:30- Involuntary manslaughter is a much more serious crime than negligence. Have you even read the entire article? How can you defend what these adults did? And, they are, under the law, adults and will be tried as such. And, personally I hope they throw the book at all of them. Waiting until the next day to call 911? They knew he was dead, and they tried to make him look better than he was, according to the article. The Greek system is not just for people who cannot make friends on their own. It is a sisterhood, or brotherhood for life in some cases. Just like a lot of other ways to meet people, such as the American Legion, Elks, Lions, Rotary. Do all of these organizations just appeal to people who can't make friends? If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Arkansas, where they might even believe your nonsense.
ReplyDeleteSounds more like a satanic ritual than fraternity hazing. Who's to say he wasn't roofied or pushed down the stairs and goodness knows what else? And all of this was recorded? Horrific. Waiting that long to seek medical care does not speak well to their scruples at all. More like Skull and Bones than Elks or Lions. Stop victim blaming.
ReplyDeleteRidiculous speculation. 1:36 has obviously never been in a fraternity,
DeleteSupposed elitism by the campus greek system has no relation to the morality of its privileged members. This is the result. Lock 'em up. This sadly is nothing new.
ReplyDeleteNonsense. Irrational. You don't know what you're talking about.
DeleteExplain their behavior, if you can. There is no excuse for letting one of their so-called brothers die. Only one objected and he was shut down.
ReplyDeleteGood for him. For the others, not so much. Lock them up.
Hold on. I know. It is affluenza.
Ignorant fool displaying your prejudice.
DeleteCondoning fool, back at you.
ReplyDeleteTo say they were "very drunk" to apparently not know the difference, yet sober enough to squash a suggestion to call for help by another pledge for fear of their frat house??
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke! Bad decision to drink? Sure. Do you pass up a car wreck without stopping to help or call 912 because "they choose to speed"?
Affluenza, or whatever..i prefer lack of morality, but these kids need to be held accountable.