3 Arizona frat leaders charged with hazing after pledge found dead

Three Arizona college fraternity brothers have been charged with hazing after a pledge who downed booze at a rush party was found dead the next morning, according to authorities.

The 18-year-old student at Northern Arizona University was discovered passed out around 8:45 a.m. Saturday inside the Delta Tau Delta house, where bystanders and first responders desperately tried to revive him before he was declared dead, Flagstaff police said.

Investigators determined the victim attended a “rush” party at the fraternity house where he and other pledge candidates downed alcohol, leading to the arrest of three members of the frat’s executive board, according to police.

From left to right: Ryan Creech, Carter Eslick and Riley Cass. Coconino County Sheriff's Office

Frat vice president Ryan Creech, treasurer Riley Cass and new-member educator Carter Eslick, all 20, were charged with hazing.

An official cause of death for the 18-year-old pupil still needs to be determined by the medical examiner’s office.

The identity of the victim was not released, but one classmate told Fox 10 he was a freshman,

“He was literally in his second semester, hadn’t even finished the whole year,” said the student, who was not named. “I’m sad. It’s not fair.”

A neighbor of the fraternity house said ambulances at the off-campus home is not uncommon as he described the flood of emergency vehicles that reached the scene Saturday morning.

“I looked out my front window and there was, you know, just a two ambulances, five cop cars, one battalion cruiser and a fire truck,” Don P. told Fox 10.

“So I knew something was very, very wrong as far as what had occurred. I mean, I had my suspicions.”

Northern Arizona University leaders said in a statement that hazing has “no place” at the school.

Northern Arizona University campus. Kit Leong – stock.adobe.com

“This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his family, friends and all members of our community who are grieving,” said the school, which is starting its own investigation into the death.

The fraternity is suspended during the school’s probe, officials added.

Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity CEO Jack Kreman said in a statement the wider organization is encouraging members to cooperate with law enforcement as the case moves forward.

“Our position on hazing is clear: it is the antithesis of brotherhood and a violation of the values of Delta Tau Delta,” Kreman said, according to Arizona Family.