BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Former members of a Penn State fraternity are due in court for a preliminary hearing on charges related to the February 2017 death of a pledge after a night of hazing and drinking.
FILE – This Nov. 9, 2017, file photo shows the shuttered Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on Penn State University’s main campus in State College, Pa. Former members of the fraternity are due in court for a preliminary hearing on charges related to the February 2017 death of a pledge after a night of hazing and drinking. The hearing Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, before a district judge will determine if there’s enough evidence to send charges against several of the defendants in the case to county court for trial. The charges relate to the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza, of Lebanon, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
The hearing Tuesday before a district judge will determine if there’s enough evidence to send charges against several of the defendants in the case to county court for trial. It could last several days.
It’ll be the third preliminary hearing for the defendants and the fourth overall involving the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza, of Lebanon, New Jersey.
Piazza died of severe head and abdominal injuries after a bid acceptance ceremony at the Beta Theta Pi house. Authorities say he consumed a dangerous amount of alcohol.
A video security system recorded much of what occurred that night.
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