Two ex-Penn State students plead guilty in hazing case involving death of teen pledge

Timothy Piazza was 19 when overconsumption of alcohol led to his death at a bid-acceptance party organized by the now-defunct Beta Theta Pi chapter.

Two former Penn State students pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor hazing and reckless endangerment in a high-profile case involving the death of a teenage pledge at a fraternity chapter where the pair held top student leadership positions.

The charges against Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, president and vice president of the campus' Beta Theta Pi chapter at the time, included one count each of reckless endangerment and 14 counts each of misdemeanor hazing, one for each pledge at the deadly event in 2017.

Attorneys for the pair did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Tuesday.

Timothy Piazza, 19, of New Jersey, who was among the 14 pledges at the Feb. 2 bid acceptance event, died two days later. State prosecutors said he was served 18 drinks in 82 minutes and then suffered life-ending head and abdominal injuries when he fell.

Festivities at the pledge event including an alcohol-fueled “obstacle course,” the prosecutors alleged.

Piazza was found unconscious in a fraternity house basement the day after the event, but emergency medical responders weren't summoned for 40 minutes, state prosecutors said.

Piazza was a Hunterdon Central Regional High School football player and track team member, according to his obituary.

The Pennsylvania attorney general's office prosecuted the case. Attorney General Michelle Henry described Piazza's death as a "tragic loss of life."

It came to symbolize the consequences of hazing and underage drinking at fraternities, and it inspired the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law in Pennsylvania, which makes hazing resulting in serious injury or death a felony.

Twenty-eight members of the fraternity were initially charged in connection with the case.

Young and Casey helped organize the event, prosecutors said. Their sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 1.

A spokesperson for the national offices of Beta Theta Pi did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

CORRECTION (July 31, 2024, 12:05 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the college the students attended. It was Penn State, not the University of Pennsylvania.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.