8 more felony hazing charges filed against former University of Missouri frat members
An additional eight former members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at the University of Missouri-Columbia are facing felony charges for their roles in an alleged hazing incident last fall that resulted in significant brain damage to a freshman pledge, according to court documents.
The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday charged each of the additional defendants with one count of hazing — life endangerment, according to court documents. Under Missouri law, hazing is a felony when “the act creates a substantial risk to the life of the student or prospective member.”
Those newly charged are Samuel S. Gandhi of St. Louis; Benjamin Karl of Columbia; Samuel E. Lane of Columbia; Samuel J. Morrison of Cameron, Missouri; Blake A. Morsovillo of Springfield, Missouri; John J. O’Neill of Columbia; Benjamin C. Parres of Chesterfield, Missouri, and Harrison M. Reichman of Kansas City.
Not guilty pleas were entered this week for Lane, Parres and Karl. All eight of the defendants are scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 25.
Attorneys for five of the defendants — Gandhi, Karl, Lane, Morsovillo and Parres — did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The other three defendants did not have attorneys, according to court documents.
The incident involves the alcohol poisoning of 19-year-old Daniel Santulli, who allegedly was pressured to drink a full bottle of vodka during “Pledge Dad Reveal Night” the evening of Oct. 19 at the fraternity, which was also known as Fiji.
Santulli passed out and a fraternity member found him about midnight with pale skin and blue lips.
He was driven to a hospital. When hospital staff went to the car, they found Santulli wasn’t breathing and he was in cardiac arrest, according to a lawsuit his family filed.
After using CPR to restart his heart, Santulli was rushed to intensive care and placed on a ventilator. A blood test revealed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.468 — more than five times over the legal limit, according to the lawsuit.
He suffered significant brain damage and is unable to communicate.
The latest charges bring the total number of people charged in the case to 11.
In June, a Boone County grand jury indicted Ryan P. Delanty, of Ballwin, Missouri, and Thomas A. Shultz, of Chesterfield, Missouri, on one count each felony hazing and misdemeanor supplying alcohol to a minor or intoxicated person, according to court documents.
Shultz also faces an additional felony charge of tampering with evidence in a felony prosecution.
Alec B. Wetzler, of St. Louis, also has been charged with supplying alcohol to a minor and possession of alcohol by a minor, both misdemeanors.
After the fraternity was found responsible for multiple violations of MU’s Standard Code of Conduct, the university withdrew recognition of the chapter as a student organization and the fraternity was closed.
Last month, the University of Missouri Office of Student Accountability and Support sanctioned 13 fraternity members over the incident.
The university said the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act prevented it from releasing details about the disciplinary decision. The sanctions, however, can include suspension or expulsion.
