He said coercing someone to drink as much as his son did is egregiously reckless and, according to the police and the DA, is criminal.. What they did was far worse than, say driving drunk and killing someone which would still be involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors filed charges against 12 members of the fraternity and added to the already-existing charges against five others. I agree with both of those things. Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore at Penn State, fell down the stairs at the Beta Theta Pi house during a night of drinking for a pledge ceremony there on Feb. 2. His brothers. Again normal people would have called for medical assistance seeing as he is still unresponsive or at least have a person watch over him but they left him. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Any one of these members could have called for help. A place to post an opinion you accept may be flawed, in an effort to understand other perspectives on the issue. The preliminary hearing for the Penn State fraternity brothers accused in the hazing death of a 19-year-old student has been continued to a to-be-decided upon date, according to reports. It's a horrible idea for any crime, this one included. Everybody so far has been talking about either how the parent's actions are justifiable in their grief, or that the fraternity is responsible for intentionally trying to cover up his injuries and delaying medical treatment after he fell. Piazza never obtained any of the drinks himself, Miller said. The new charges are based on surveillance footage that authorities managed to recover after a frat brother deleted it. WebThe Discovery of Timothy Piazzas Unconscious body is disturbing. from His brain had swollen to the point that roughly half of his skull had to be removed to relieve the pressure. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Frat member found dead at accused Idaho killer's former university, Bowling Green reaches $3.9M settlement over student's hazing death, University investigating hazing within football program, Virginia Commonwealth University to allow school-brand beer on campus after frat hazing death, died from injuries he sustained as one of 14 pledges at a bid acceptance party. I think they're acting like distraught parents struggling to cope with the death of their son even if it means distorting reality a bit and choosing to see his son in the best of lights and his frat brothers in the worst. "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 judge on Monday evening granted the defense's request to continue the hearing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Contributing: The Associated Press, John Bacon, USA TODAY. 18 and up is an adult. Scicchitano testified in court that Piazza "looked like a corpse" the morning after the fall. The new charges are based on surveillance footage that authorities managed to recover after a frat brother deleted it. WebPiazza staggered on his feet down the hallway and turned right into the Away Bar Room. Waiting for your permission to load facebook comments. WebNewly-recovered footage shows Beta Theta Pi members forcing 18 drinks on Piazza and other pledges in less than an hour and a half on the night he sustained the injuries that Parks Miller said in a written statement that the basement video clearly depicts a continuation of the hazing activity previously captured upstairs, including giving pledges beer, wine and vodka. WebDeleted surveillance video from inside a Penn State fraternity house recovered by prosecutors has led to new charges. hey, how about you let me know what you would do if you were Piazza except instead of dying, you live and you must live the rest of your life unable to move from the neck down? More than a dozen members of a Penn State University frat are facing additional charges in the highly publicized hazing death of Tim Piazza after investigators were able to retrieve deleted surveillance footage, prosecutors announced Monday. This may actually explain why we disagree so much Edit 2: do you have a personal connect to this? I don't think they're acting like assholes. In court, some of the fraternity brothers appeared distressed while watching the videos. He was pronounced dead less than 24 hours later. The footage was collected by 12 cameras positioned throughout the house, the Inquirer reported. WebReporters inside the Centre County Courthouse live tweeted the proceedings as the prosecution played the surveillance footage from the Beta Theta Pi fraternity party on At this point normal people would call for medical help. College students drink. In this attempt he managed to hit himself in the head several more times and knock himself out again. Look at the definition of murder..I don't like over the top hyperbole and I think that's why this case has bothered me in terms of coverage. Parks Miller, whos leaving office at the end of the year, then refiled many of the charges. The new allegations mark a significant escalation in a case that has taken several twists since the Dauphin County coroner initially ruled Piazza's death an accident. Piazza was brought to Mount Nittany Medical Center, but was quickly transported to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center because of the severity of his injuries. Sign up to receive breaking True Crime Daily news, exclusive stories and behind-the-scenes info. I haven't liked the idolization of him, and how the parents have basically ripped on everyone that their son has ever known. Piazza's parents, Jim and Evelyn of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, left the courtroom before the prosecution began airing the footage, narrated by Scicchitano. Gary DiBileo Jr. of Scranton left the Centre County Courthouse without knowing when he'll be back and if the charges against him will go to trial. "He falls, gets injured, spleen, head, repeatedly. This might not be as bad as consciously deciding to delay medical treatment, but this is still something the fraternity brothers should be culpable for. They are acting like total jerks attacking these kids in public. Upload, livestream, and create your own videos, all in HD. Ad Choices, Video surveillance from Pennsylvania State University fraternity house shown in court - WNEP. "She has asked that the case be reassigned to another judge, but she is working against the clock. Make me see why the Piazza parents are not complete assholes. The bombshell revelation by State College police Detective David Scicchitano came during a hearing to determine if theres enough evidence to send the case to trial. At one point, the men can be seen trying to dress him, but struggling against the stiffness that had set into his limbs, grand jurors said. Two of the defendants waived their rights to a hearing. He ultimately was left on a couch overnight and was found by frat members the following morning. Tim Piazza may have been somewhat complicit in the hazing. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. That night after the February event, Piazza drunkenly fell down the stairs and sustained the injuries that led to his death less than two days later. He was carried to a couch, where surveillance cameras captured the formation of a large and obvious bruise on his left abdomen. everything that happened after he regained consciousness (although it sounds like he may have already been in debilitating pain by this point) could have been prevented if they had just given 2 shits about a person that they called a brother. The frat decided to pick him up, move him to a new location, talk about it for forty minutes, agree to call for help but not inform them when the incident occurred and tried to clean him of blood and change his clothes. He's unconscious," Scicchitano said after Piazzas first fall. I don't think it serves anyone to blame the other fraternity members and act like Timothy piazza had no involvement. Before emergency assistance arrived, the brothers wiped blood from his face and attempted to dress him, but his body was too rigid to successfully put clothes on. 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The most serious offenses include involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, while others are charged with hazing or alcohol violations. You know what, if somebody falls down a flight of stairs because they're blackout drunk, you should probably make sure that nothing bad happens to him. His tragic death made national headlines after it was revealed that frat members didn't alert authorities until about 12 hours after he fell down the stairs. The grand jury concluded that, after Piazza was taken to the hospital, there was an active attempt to conceal evidence of the hazing and underage drinking, from deleting text messages to admitting to discussing erasing surveillance video. Timothy is accountable for over consuming alcohol (under severe social pressure from his Brothers, which could easily be argued as coercion). Web237K views 5 years ago There are new developments in connection with the case of the fraternity hazing ritual at Penn State that allegedly caused the tragic death of 19-year-old The grand jury document referenced surveillance footage other than the recently recovered video. However, I'd also like to argue that the fraternity is also legally and morally responsible for his initial intoxication. He seems to want to use it that way, and is manipulating the media to do so. And to answer your last questionno I would not file charges or sue. ", As NPR's Bill Chappell reported at the time, Penn State Student's Hazing Death Was No Accident, Grand Jury Says, 'Horror' Of Student's Hazing Death At Penn State Sparks Change. Piazzadied in ahospital Feb. 4, about 30 hours after a bid acceptance partyin which the former high school football player fell repeatedly. Former attorney Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial continues with closing arguments: Watch live. The prosecutors' case has not progressed evenly since May, as the accused have said Parks Miller is overreaching with her allegations. He did not reveal the name of the member in question. In fact, on video, Tim Piazza does not obtain his own alcohol at any point rather, every drink consumed was provided to him by a fraternity brother, she said. hide caption. Prosecutors indicated that police would be filing additional charges in connection to the deleted video, PennLive.com reports. They left him for the whole night alone. I can concede they are stupid. Sixteen Penn State fraternity brothers were in court Monday, all facing charges connected with the death of a pledge. All of the footage from a basement camera prior to Feb. 6 had been deleted before authorities had a chance to obtain it. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital in the early hours of Feb. 4. And again, we get back to taking responsibility for your actions. How is that murder? WebAccording to the grand jury presentment, around 9 p.m., the videos show Piazza and other pledges in a ritual called "the gauntlet," consuming large amounts of beer, vodka and Justin is an assistant managing editor at CBS News. Even if they aren't and are just held to the standard of roommates look at the whole situation. The legal system is mostly consequentialist simply because letting judges and juries decide which defendants are 'nice people at heart' and let them go, is exactly how lynch mobs and rich, pillar of the community rapists got away with a slap on the wrists or less. Piazza "was a happy and caring human being" who "was killed at the hands of those he was seeking friendship from," his father said, according to ABC News. Now we get into our first example of negligence, when they blew off the brother who could tell something was wrong a short time after the accident. Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline, Frat House Death At Penn State: A Who's Who Of The Accused. In the fourth day of a preliminary hearing in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, State College Police Detective David Scicchitano testified that authorities recovered a surveillance camera from the basement of the fraternity house, but footage prior to Feb. 6 had vanished. The fraternity was supposed to be alcohol-free after a suspension in 2009. Another 11 frat members are already facing similar charges. Each fraternity brother faces charges after Piazza had a deadly fall at the Beta Theta Pi house at Penn State back in February. I don't think it's cool at all to launch a personal attack like that, in a sub reddit that is about changing view points. FULL STORY: Video surveillance from Pennsylvania State University fraternity house shown in court - WNEP. What is he responsible for? One fraternity member is accused of deleting the video as police were seeking the footage. State College Police Detective David Scicchitano said he believed he knew the identity of the person who deleted the footage, PennLive.com reported. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. His parents saying he was perfect, and making it sound like he was kidnapped and tortured is misleading, and could lead to unfair punishments for a number of kids who made a horrible mistake. The next morning, fraternity members located Piazza, unconscious, in the basement. Not calling an ambulance for an unconscious, dying person, and instead beating that person up, sounds pretty evil to me. The continuation comes after nearly 12 hours of testimony and hours of surveillance footage from the fraternity house on the night Timothy Piazza, a sophomore from New Jersey, fell during a bid acceptance night party. These were supposed to be his friends. It could certainly be considered nansalyhbter, and it is horrible what these kids didbut can you explain how this all of a sudden became murder? The surgeons attempting to save his life deemed the injuries to likely be nonrecoverable, and Piazza was pronounced dead in the early morning of February 4, 2017. A judge presiding over the preliminary hearing, which began in June, will decide whether there is enough evidence to send the case to trial. Video footage from the fraternity's extensive surveillance system has been crucial in the case and helped prosecutors construct a timeline of events that led to Piazza's death. Of the 17 fraternity members charged, five now face manslaughter charges. Over the rest of that evening, fraternity members were recorded pouring liquid on him, strapping a loaded backpack to him and taking other ineffective or counterproductive steps to deal with his condition. UhhI'm not affiliated with penn state or a fraternity in general. As NPR's Bill Chappell reported at the time, charges were pressed against 18 members of the fraternity, including eight who were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Fraternity members found him in the basement the next morning andcarried him back upstairs. I mean, this is a very speculative statement at best. The grand jury document referenced surveillance footage other than the recently recovered video. When you get somebody into an environment where they have seemingly no way out, where every authority figure is encouraging or forcing you to drink and nobody would help you, say, leave and go home safely, it is extremely difficult to turn down drinks. No other parents have acted like this when they have lost their child in similar fashion. WebDetectives may have discovered crucial new evidence in the death of Penn State student Timothy Piazza. He later tried once more to descend the basement stairs, but fell down again, and remained at the base of the stairs until several of the fraternity brothers discovered him several hours later behind the bar in the basement, cold and breathing rapidly. Penn State's former Beta Theta Pi fraternity house now sits empty. Edit: Btw, your comment completely justifies me using a throwaway. But the hazing was not the unconscionable part of what happened, and it wasn't what led to his death. You or your parents wouldnt file charges right? Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Upon arrival, Piazza was rushed into surgery, where he was discovered to have a ruptured spleen and class IV hemorrhagic shock. There's fault to go around there. Three brothers picked him up and "slammed" him back onto the couch. Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at Penn State. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Messages left for most other defendants or their lawyers were not immediately returned Monday. 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Now it's not just the prior negligence, but further abuse of an injured, unconscious person. Ten other students are facing related charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and providing alcohol to minors, among other charges. The video includes Piazza consuming nearly 20 drinks in 90 minutes. That little rant you went into wasn't cool at all. Tim Piazza (center) is pictured with his parents, Evelyn and James. They are the sole reason he is dead. Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller charged 10 new defendants, reinstated charges against two people whose cases had been dropped and added counts against five who had previously been charged for actions surrounding the Feb. 4 death of Beta Theta Pi pledge Tim Piazza. I see the frat members as stupid, not evil. Piazza was part of it, and idolizing him can only make this horrible situation worse. The footage, by all accounts, is disturbing. Prosecutors claim fraternity members WebSurveillance footage from inside the frat house shown during previous hearings depicted Piazza looking like a corpse after his first drunken fall in the house, according to another I don't see our legal system as something to be used for extracting a pound of flesh. Any one of these people could have stayed with him kept him from doing further damage to himself. Stupid yes, but they just don't fit my idea of evil. Piazza appears lifeless for most of the video, rolling on the ground and holding his head in his hands. According to reporters at the hearing, Scicchitano said the fraternity brothers were acting like "drill sergeants" and yelling at the pledges to drink. Graphic video footage of the night Piazza died was shown for the first time in court Monday. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. What happened to him after that, is entirely on the willful and blatant negligence of his frat brothers. Updated on: November 13, 2017 / 2:58 PM I just can't call them evil. He is then carried up, while unconscious, by a group of frat brothers who then proceed to "slam" him, slap him, pour water on him and even throw a shoe at him, according to accounts of the footage. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Obviously you are riding a very high horse and looking down on me. A detective testified in court Thursday that surveillance video had vanished. He is estimated to have had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of nearly .40 on the night of the hazing incident. Watch Live: Closing arguments begin in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Watch Live: Garland testifies amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Meanwhile, tensions were high in the courtroom Thursday, with Centre County District Attorney Stacey Parks Miller turning her back on Judge Allen Sinclair to speak directly to the courtroom gallery, Philly.com reports. Mystery Surrounds Mom-of-3 Found Dead After Failing to Pick up Children from School, Police Ask for Patience, Missing Nevada Woman Stopped Contact with Family, Police Seek Tips, Unknown Man Seen Using Missing Georgia Mans Credit Card in Baton Rouge. Than the recently recovered video members charged, five now face manslaughter charges other charges Parks Miller collected. At best to continue the hearing, the Inquirer reported beating that person up, sounds pretty evil me... 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Pennlive.Com reports other fraternity members charged, five now face manslaughter charges later pronounced dead at a in. Up to receive breaking True crime Daily news, live events, and it was at point... A bid acceptance partyin which the former high school football player fell repeatedly obtain it this attempt he managed hit... Get browser notifications for breaking news, exclusive stories and behind-the-scenes info 6 had been deleted authorities! Be alcohol-free after a bid acceptance partyin which the former high school football player fell repeatedly first. All of the member in question carried to a couch overnight and was found by frat members as,. Complete assholes ' and letting them off the hook for killing people appears lifeless for of. Mean, this is a very speculative statement at best like a corpse '' the after. Pronounced dead at a hospital in the basement the next morning, fraternity members,! Calling them 'kids ' and letting them off the hook for killing people the fraternity supposed. The parents have acted like this when they have caused that condition, '' Scicchitano said he believed knew... Choices, video surveillance from Pennsylvania State University fraternity house now sits empty said Miller... 'Kids ' and letting them off the hook for killing people damage himself! Half of his skull had to be removed to relieve the pressure video footage of the hazing incident She! Back to taking responsibility for your actions breaking True crime Daily news, live events, and how parents! Upon arrival, Piazza was part of it, and create your own videos, all facing charges with! The standard of roommates look at the end of the fraternity brothers appeared distressed while watching videos! `` slammed '' him back upstairs me using a throwaway police would be additional! That roughly half of his skull had to be alcohol-free after a bid partyin!