Northern Arizona University student dies after fraternity rush event; 3 charged with hazing

An Arizona college student was found dead Saturday morning after attending a fraternity rush event the previous night, police said. Three members of the fraternity have been charged with hazing.

Officers at around 8:45 a.m. discovered the 18-year-old student unresponsive at a residence near the campus of Northern Arizona University, according to the the Flagstaff Police Department. Bystanders in the home had already started to perform CPR when officers arrived, and they continued to attempt life-saving measures until paramedics joined them, the department said. The student was pronounced dead at the scene despite their efforts.

Detectives searched the home and interviewed several witnesses, according to police, who said preliminary evidence suggests the student was a pledge candidate at Northern Arizona University’s Delta Tau Delta fraternity. The student, who has not been identified by name, had attended a rush event for the fraternity on Friday night where many attendees consumed alcohol, including pledge candidates, police said.

Police arrested three other students with leadership roles at the fraternity: Carter Eslick, 20, the chapter’s new member educator; Ryan Creech, 20, its vice president; and Riley Cass, 20, its treasurer. All three were executive board members at the fraternity. They were booked into the Coconino County Detention Facility and charged with hazing, police said. 

Detectives are continuing to investigate and will coordinate with the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the student’s cause of death. Anyone with information about the investigation has been asked to contact the department.

Northern Arizona University said in a statement released Sunday that it had suspended Delta Tau Delta in order to conduct its own review of the incident. It acknowledged that the school was “mourning the tragic death of a student” and pledged to support the police investigation into the three facing charges.

“We want to be clear: The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priorities,” the university said. “Violence hazing or any other behavior that endangers others has no place at NAU. The university has robust hazing prevention training and requirements, and has high standards for the conduct of all NAU-associated organizations and individual students.”

Delta Tau Delta International also responded to the student’s death in a statement, CBS affiliate KPHO-TV reported. 

“The Fraternity is aware of an ongoing investigation into the incident and encourages its members’ cooperation with local law enforcement,” the statement said. “Our position on hazing is clear: it is the antithesis of brotherhood and a violation of the values of Delta Tau Delta.”

The fraternity said it “has maintained strong policies barring hazing” since its founding and “vigorously supports the implementation of anti-hazing legislation” in Arizona and federally.