Dozens of new charges filed in death of Penn State frat pledge Timothy Piazza
BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- Dozens of new charges were filed against 17 Penn State fraternity brothers in the death of pledge earlier this year.
The new charges came after deleted video from inside the frat house basement was recovered by the FBI.
Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said the new evidence enabled police to determine that Beta Theta Pi pledge Timothy Piazza had been given at least 18 drinks over less than 90 minutes.
Each of the defendants faces multiple counts. A total of 12 names were added to the list, while another five of the 14 currently facing charges had additional counts filed against them.
"They claimed 'We don't know what happened other than what was seen in the upstairs video, and we don't know what happened in the basement.' Guess what guys, now we know," said Piazza's father, Jim.
Investigators say one of the frat brothers deleted the video just as the equipment was being turned over to police.
"When law enforcement initially evaluated the video footage, fraternity brothers led police to believe that the basement cameras had been inoperable" the night of Piazza's fall, the district attorney's office said in a press release. "However, after later examining one of the DVR surveillance boxes, State College Police uncovered evidence that the basement camera footage had actually been manually deleted just as State College Police were poised to take possession of the recording equipment."
The 19-year-old Piazza, from Lebanon, New Jersey, was fatally injured back in February. Piazza died of a fractured skull and other injuries two days after drinking a dangerous amount of alcohol at a pledge ceremony and falling down basement stairs.
Investigators say the video shows Piazza does not obtain his own alcohol at any point. In fact, authorities say, every drink consumed was provided to him by a fraternity brother.
That night, after taking part in an alcohol-fueled hazing ritual known as the "Gauntlet," a heavily intoxicated Piazza was heard falling down the stairs. He was later found lying face down at the bottom.
What happened next is described in horrific detail in a grand jury report citing evidence including surveillance video, witness testimony and phone records.
Members of the fraternity carried Piazza up the steps and put him on the couch. They dumped water on his face and slapped him in an apparent attempt to wake him, to no avail. When one pledge tried to intervene, insisting they get Piazza some help, he was shoved into a wall and told the brothers had it under control.
As the night went on, Piazza tried over and over to stand on his own, falling each time and eventually going still. By the morning of Feb. 3, he was breathing heavily, with blood on his face. When a fraternity member finally called 911 for help, Piazza's skin had turned gray.
Initially, 18 former Beta Theta Pi members faced charges in connection with Piazza's death, with prosecutors alleging many were involved in attempting to cover up the incident and "coordinate a story."
One former fraternity member allegedly texted his girlfriend "drink hazing can send me to jail," and "I don't want to go to jail for this." "I think we are f-----," he added.
"Make sure the pledges clean the basement and get rid of any evidence of alcohol," one of the fraternity members allegedly texted another after Piazza's injury.
In September charges were dismissed completely against four of the former fraternity members who were facing single counts of either tampering with evidence or recklessly endangering another person.
The most serious charges -- involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault -- were also dropped for eight former fraternity members. Cases against 14 students were set to move forward for less serious alleged offenses.
The fraternity has since been closed.
The following 12 students were charged by authorities after review of the basement video:
1. Joshua Kurczewski
Involuntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault
Simple Assault
Reckless Endangering Another Person
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
2. Ryan Burke
Involuntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault
Simple Assault
Reckless Endangering Another Person
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
3. Jonathan Kanzler
Involuntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault
Simple Assault
Reckless Endangering Another Person
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor (1 count)
4. Bohan Song
Involuntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault
Simple Assault
Reckless Endangering Another Person
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor (1 count)
5. Aiden O'Brien
Involuntary Manslaughter
Aggravated Assault
Simple Assault
Reckless Endangering Another Person
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor (1 count)
6. Joseph Ems
Hazing, 23 P.S. 5353 (1 count)
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors, 18 Pa.C.S. 6310.1 (1 count)
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor, 47 P.S. 4-493 (1 count)
7. Brian Gelb
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
8. Patrick Jackson
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
9. Reggie Goeke
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
10. Mike Fernandez
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
11. Donald Prior
Hazing
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
12. Braxton Becker
Tampering with Evidence (1 count)
Obstructing Administration of Law (1 count)
Hindering Apprehension (1 count)
In addition to these newly charged defendants, the following previously charged Beta brothers now face additional criminal charges based on their actions on basement video:
1. Luke Visser
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
2. Gary Dibilio
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
3. Nick Kubera
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
4. Michael Bonatucci
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
5. Parker Yochim
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor
Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor
