10 current or former members of Louisiana State University were arrested Wednesday on hazing charges in the death of a fraternity member during a night of heavy drinking.
Eight of the 10 suspects were active members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and one of the suspects, Matthew Naquin, is also facing a negligent homicide charge in the death of 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver back on September 14th.
Gruver was found lying on a couch at the fraternity house with a weak pulse and fraternity members could not tell if he was breathing. He was driven to the hospital and died later that day.
According to a toxicology report, Gruver has a blood alcohol content of .496, which is more than six times the legal limit and that he was found with vomit in his lungs, which was the cause of death.
LSU president Frt. King Alexander released a statement saying, “Today’s arrests underscore that the ramifications of hazing can be devastating,” the university’s president, F. King Alexander, said in a statement. “Maxwell Gruver’s family will mourn his loss for the rest of their lives, and several other students are now facing serious consequences — all due to a series of poor decisions.”
The hazing leading to Gruver’s death consisted of a question-and-answer game called ‘Bible Study’, in which pledges were quizzed on the fraternity and made to drink every time they answered incorrectly.
After executing search warrants for the fraternity house, as well as Gruver’s room, they found a duffel bag filled with beer cans, liquor bottles, a glass smoking pipes, cleaning supplies, two strands of knotted rope, and a “pledge test.”
After hearing of this latest incident, personal injury attorney Neal Goldstein commented, “Colleges and universities need to realize that this type of behavior is no longer acceptable and can lead to serious consequences. Turning a blind eye to it has led to too many young people have dying tragically and it must be stopped.”
Goldstein and Bashner
