Two former fraternity leaders pleaded guilty for their roles in a hazing incident that led to the death of Penn State University student Timothy Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey, in 2017.
Brendan Young, 28, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Daniel Casey, 27, of Ronkonkoma, New York, both pleaded guilty this week in Centre County Court to 14 counts of hazing and a single count of reckless endangerment, all misdemeanors, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday, July 30.
Sentencing is scheduled for both men on Oct. 1, 2024.
The death of Timothy Piazza
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Young was the president of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State while Casey was vice president and pledge master of the frat at the time of Piazza’s death in February 2017.
Piazza was a 19-year-old sophomore student at Penn State and among 14 pledges who were summoned to the Beta Theta Pi house to participate in the bid acceptance event on Feb. 2, 2017. He was found unresponsive the next morning after drinking a large amount of alcohol during an initiation event known as an “obstacle course” and falling multiple times. He was pronounced dead on Feb. 4, 2017.
An autopsy estimated that Piazza had consumed several times the legal limit for alcohol the night of the pledge event. He also suffered severe head and abdominal injuries. He ended up in the basement the next morning, but it took members 40 minutes after finding Piazza injured and unconscious before they summoned help.
Both Young and Casey participated in and facilitated the hazing event.
“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,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said. “Mr. Piazza was simply seeking to join a social organization for the benefits of community and shared experiences, as so many university students do. Most of those students go on to successful lives and careers — basic expectations following college which Mr. Piazza never had the opportunity to experience.”
The prosecution in the case took a significant amount of time due in large part to appeals of pre-trial court rulings, a spokesperson for the Attorney General wrote. The case was placed on hold while state prosecutors appealed an order that cellphone evidence couldn’t be used.
Young and Casey were two of the 28 members of the now-shuttered fraternity who faced charges in connection to Piazza’s death, although the most serious allegations of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed or withdrawn. Most pleaded guilty to hazing and alcohol-related counts and received probation and community service, or were enrolled in an alternative sentencing program designed for first-time, nonviolent offenders.
Piazza’s death prompted Penn State to ban the fraternity and Pennsylvania state lawmakers to pass legislation making the most severe forms of hazing a felony, requiring schools to maintain policies to combat hazing, and allowing the confiscation of frat houses where hazing has occurred. Piazza’s parents also sued former members of the frat as well as a security company that had been hired to enforce alcohol regulations.
The fraternity house has been used sporadically since spring 2017, typically by fraternity alumni during home football weekends or other special events.
