2 former Penn State students plead guilty in 'obstacle course' hazing death

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) -- Two former Penn State University students recently pleaded guilty to charges related to the 2017 hazing death of a student pledging their fraternity.

According to a July 30 news release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, 28-year-old Brendan Young and 27-year-old Daniel Casey each pleaded guilty to 14 counts of hazing and one count of reckless endangerment. Each count of hazing represents the number of members in the spring 2017 Beta Theta Pi pledge class who were subjected to a hazing event called the "obstacle course." The reckless endangerment charge is in reference to Timothy Piazza, who died from injuries sustained during the incident. Young and Casey are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 1.

Young was reportedly president of Beta Theta Pi, while Casey served as vice president and pledge master. The defendants participated in and led the fatal hazing event.

Piazza was pledging to join the fraternity in February 2017 as a sophomore and was "summoned to the house" for a bid acceptance event. According to the attorney general’s office, Piazza participated in an initiation event referred to as an "obstacle course," where pledges drink significant amounts of alcohol. NBC News reports that Piazza fell and suffered fatal head and abdominal injuries after being served 18 drinks in just 82 minutes.

Piazza was reportedly found the following morning, but emergency personnel were not called for 40 minutes.

According to NBC News, officials initially charged 28 fraternity members in the case.

In a statement, Henry said, "There should be no discussion of this case without recognizing the tragic loss of life and resulting devastation for Mr. Piazza’s family and friends."

The attorney general’s office said, "The Piazza family was instrumental in the Pennsylvania legislature passing the  Timothy Piazza Anti-Hazing Law, which includes a felony-graded offense when serious injury or death results."

According to his obituary, Piazza played football and was a member of the track team at Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

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