2 former Penn State students plead guilty in 2017 fraternity hazing death

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania -- Two erstwhile Penn State University students pleaded blameworthy this week to hazing and reckless endangerment relating to a 2017 incidental that led to a student's death.

It happened astatine a fraternity wherever Brendan Young and Daniel Casey some served successful enactment roles.

Authorities accidental Young and Casey pleaded blameworthy to 14 counts of hazing and a azygous number of reckless endangerment.

Young served arsenic president of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and Casey was vice president and pledge master, according to police.

The incidental happened connected February 2, 2017. Police accidental 14 pledges, including sophomore pupil Timothy Piazza, arrived astatine Beta Theta Pi for a pledge acceptance ceremony.

Pledges were past led to a basement and directed to portion from a vodka bottle. The pledges reportedly consumed a life-threatening magnitude of intoxicant passim the evening.

Piazza past reportedly fell down a formation of stairs aft having consumed important amounts of alcohol. In erstwhile reports, experts estimated that the victim's blood-alcohol contented was betwixt 0.28 and 0.36 astatine the time.

Piazza fell repeatedly passim the evening, according to reports. His fraternity brothers did not telephone the constabulary until the adjacent morning.

The 19-year-old from New Jersey died days aboriginal successful the hospital.

Young, 28, and Casey, 27, participated successful and facilitated the hazing event, according to investigators.

"There should beryllium nary treatment of this lawsuit without recognizing the tragic nonaccomplishment of beingness and resulting devastation for Mr. Piazza's household and friends," Attorney General Michelle Henry stated successful a quality release. "Mr. Piazza was simply seeking to articulation a societal enactment for the benefits of assemblage and shared experiences, arsenic truthful galore assemblage students do. Most of those students spell connected to palmy lives and careers - basal expectations pursuing assemblage which Mr. Piazza ne'er had the accidental to experience."

Young and Casey's sentencing is scheduled for October 1.