Fraternity Members Face Murder Charges in Hazing Death

15 Sep, 2015

A Pennsylvania grand jury’s recommendation of murder charges against five of 37 people accused in the hazing death of a fraternity pledge is an “unprecedented” victory in the battle to stop hazing, a lawyer said Tuesday.

Douglas Fierberg represents the family of Chun “Michael” Deng, who was a Baruch College freshman in December 2013 when prosecutors say he died following extensive hazing at a Pocono Mountain rental house. Five members of Pi Delta Psi fraternity facing lesser counts were charged this week based on the grand jury recommendations. Authorities said arrests were taking place in waves, starting with the less serious charges.

Five of the people yet to be formally charged — and the fraternity — will face third degree murder charges if prosecutors follow the recommendations.

“They have done an excellent job,” Fierberg, who specializes in hazing cases, said of the grand jury. “Charges of this scope, including criminal homicide charges, are unprecedented.”

The grand jury report says fraternity members had Deng wear a blindfold and a heavy backpack, and then repeatedly tackled him during a hazing ritual known as “glass ceiling. Fraternity members told authorities that they saw Deng fall to the ground, but couldn’t make out who pushed him because it was dark.

They said they then brought Deng, who was unconscious, inside near a fire, where they called the Pi Delta Psi national president Andy Meng. Meng told the men to hide all fraternity materials, according to report. Meng, among the group charged this week, faces counts of hazing, conspiracy and hindering apprehension.

Some fraternity members eventually took Deng to the hospital, where he died a day later of “multiple traumatic injuries,” the report says.

“They didn’t get him help,” Fierberg said to USA TODAY. “They were worried about themselves. By the time they brought him to the hospital it was too late.”

A week after Deng’s death, Meng released a statement condemning the chapter, and announcing that National Pi Delta Psi was revoking its affiliation with Baruch College.

Baruch College, in New York City, issued a statement saying it had conducted a review of the students involved and brought disciplinary proceedings against those who did not withdraw voluntarily from the school. The chapter was thrown off campus.

“We owe it to Michael and his family to hold accountable those who were responsible for the senseless death of this promising young man,” school president Mitchel Wallerstein said in the statement.

Fierberg stressed the importance that fraternities and their members be held accountable for hazing.

“Michael was a wonderful, beloved young man, and, in his honor, the family will also continue pursuing its wrongful death case against the fraternity,” Fierberg said, adding that the family’s goal was compel “fraternities to change so that other parents will be spared the loss of a precious child.”

USAToday 

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