TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge is dismissing felony hazing charges against four men in the death of a university student.
FILE – This Nov. 3, 2017 file photo shows the Florida State University, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house near the FSU campus in Tallahassee, Fla. The Tallahassee Police Department on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2018, said that nine men are facing hazing charges in connection with the death of a Florida State University fraternity pledge, Andrew Coffey, 20, who was a junior and a pledge at Pi Kappa Phi. He died Nov. 3 after he was found unresponsive after a party. (Joe Rondone/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, File)
The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Circuit Judge Martin Fitzpatrick ruled Friday that prosecutors have not shown clearly how the actions of the four men were connected to the death of fraternity pledge and Florida State University student Andrew Coffey.
Three of the men still have misdemeanor charges pending against them.
State Attorney Jack Campbell is appealing, saying he hopes the appeals court will provide clarity on the state’s felony hazing law.
Coffey, 20, died of alcohol poisoning last November at an off-campus party put on by the now shuttered Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Investigators say he was coerced to drink an entire bottle of bourbon.
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