11 people charged in hazing death of Virginia college student Adam Oakes
Eleven people were charged in connection to the hazing death of a Virginia Commonwealth University student whose body was found at an off-campus house following a fraternity party.
Eight of those people were arrested Friday, Richmond police said. They have been identified as Benjamin Corado, 19; Quinn Kuby, 22; Riley McDaniel, 21; Alessandro Medina-Villanueva, 21; Jason Mulgrew, 21; Christian Rohrbach, 22; Colin Tran, 20; and Enayat Sheikhzad, 22.
The remaining three people turned themselves in, police said Monday. They are Andrew White, 22; Alexander Bradley, 21; and Robert Fritz, 21.
All eleven have each been charged with unlawful hazing of a student. Corado, Kuby, Tran, White, Bradley and Fritz are also charged with purchasing and giving alcohol to a minor.
The charges come more than six months after 19-year-old pledge Adam Oakes was found dead. His family told NBC's "Today" show that he was attending an initiation party for the Delta Chi fraternity to learn who his big brother would be. According to the family, pledges at the party said Oakes drank a large bottle of whiskey in an hour as part of an initiation process and then passed out.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as ethanol toxicity.
"They checked in on him at midnight, he was breathing and OK and on his side, but then when they woke up, they found him face down on the couch," his cousin, Courtney White, said. "And then they rolled him over. Half his face was purple, half was not."
The public university located in Richmond and the national office of Delta Chi suspended the VCU chapter.
A university spokesperson said Saturday the school "continues to mourn the tragic death of Adam Oakes and is grateful to the Richmond Police Department for its investigation."
"VCU is dedicated to continuing its efforts, announced this summer, to promote a safe and welcoming fraternity and sorority life culture for all," the spokesperson said.
