SURRENDERED

Final 3 Suspects in Virginia Frat Pledge’s Hazing Death Hand Themselves In

A total of 11 students have been indicted in Adam Oakes’ death; eight were arrested on Friday.

The final three suspects indicted in the death of 19-year-old Adam Oakes turned themselves in on Monday, local authorities said. They join eight other Virginia Commonwealth University students, all of whom have been charged with misdemeanor unlawful hazing, who were arrested on Friday. Most of them had been scheduled to appear in court on Monday, but their hearing was postponed to early October. “When we got the first call that people were being arrested, I cried,” Oakes’ cousin said on Friday, adding, “It was like that first glimmer of hope in seven months.”

Oakes, a freshman pledge to the campus’ Delta Chi fraternity, was found dead on Feb. 27 after attending an initiation party. Three months later, the Richmond Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be alcohol poisoning. The university suspended and later banned their Delta Chi chapter following the incident. After a review, it also banned alcohol at undergrad student organization functions, and prohibited Greek organizations from bringing in any new members this school year.