18 Charged in Penn State Frat Death

Eighteen Penn State fraternity brothers were charged in the death of Beta Theta Pi pledge Timothy Piazza, who was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs after drinking too much alcohol. Prosecutors allege that Piazza’s fraternity brothers left him there for 12 hours without helping him after forcing him to drink alcohol, which caused him to fall down the stairs. Piazza, 19, allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of .40. Text messages among the brothers allegedly suggested that others in the house knew of Piazza’s dire condition but refused to help him, and then tried to cover it up. They also face charges of reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence.