LSU Fraternity Brother Released On Bond After Hazing Death

A Lousiana State student was released on bond Thursday following the hazing death of pledge Maxwell Gruver, according to reports. Gruver, 18, died from a what LSU police are investigating as a hazing-related death Sept. 14.

Hudson Kirkpatrick, 19, was one of 10 men in LSU's chapter of Phi Delta Theta arrested for Gruver's death. Kirkpatrick's bond amounted to $5,000.

Kirkpatrick was released hours after the other nine students allegedly involved made bond, The Advocate reported Friday. All men are facing misdemeanor hazing counts for the death of their pledge brother. Matthew Naquin, 19, is the only apparent participant facing a count of negligent homicide in addition to hazing. Naquin's bond amounted to $10,000.

Arrest warrants were first issued for Kirkpatrick and Naquin alongside Zachary Castillo, Elliot Eaton, Patrick Forde, Sean Paul Gott, Zachary Hall, Ryan Isto, Sean Pennison and Nicholas Taulli on Wednesday. Eight of the men were members of the university's fraternity, police said. The remaining two men, however, were reportedly connected to the fraternity, but not said to be official members.

Gruver was allegedly forced to play a question-and-answer game that required him to drink from a bottle of liquor whenever he gave an incorrect answer. The game, called "bible study," led Gruver to consume enough alcohol to hit a blood alcohol content of .496 percent, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office reported Sept. 15. This is more than six times the legal driving limit.

Gruver's death is being ruled as an accident. His cause of death is said to be acute alcohol intoxication with aspiration.

Phi Delta Theta has an alcohol-free policy. Bob Biggs, the fraternity's executive vice president and CEO, said the rule was first enforced in 2000.

"This tragedy furthers our belief that one of the biggest problems on college campuses today is the abuse and misuse of alcohol," Biggs said in a statement on the fraternity's website. "In 2000, we implemented Alcohol-Free Housing to address this issue, but this incident serves as a stark reminder of why we need to continue to educate our undergraduates on the dangers of alcohol, hazing, and be constantly vigilant to ensure our risk management policies are fully implemented."

Hazing has long existed within American fraternity and sorority culture. Incidents like Gruver's, nonetheless, are very common. Since 1838, more than 200 college students have died from a hazing-related accident in the U.S., according to data from Franklin College Journalism Professor Hank Nuwer.

Improvements are currently underway with fraternity hazing as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette suspended four fraternities following the LSU controversy. Theta Xi, Kappa Alpha Order, Sigma Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon were all reportedly placed on suspension for hazing-related incidents that came to light, according to a report from the school's newspaper The Vermilion.