Coverup detected in Penn State haze death

HIS BIG BROTHERS knew their pledge needed help, but did nothing for nearly 12 hours before he died.

Instead, the Penn State University students devised a deceptive plot to coverup their delay in calling 911 after the 19-yearold sophomore was found at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement.

Tim Piazza, the Beta Theta Pi pledge was forced on Feb. 2 to chug vodka, beer and wine. Piazza died of a traumatic brain injury and 18 of the fraternity brothers were charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter.

Doctors estimate that Piazza’s blood-alcohol level was .40 at the time of his death.

“These young men deserve to be punished,” Thomas Kline, an attorney for the Piazza family, told CNN Saturday.

Kline added that the public should not let the normally fun-filled fraternity house setting distract from “the chilling, numbing facts which are in the investigative report by the grand jury.”

Damning text messages show the fraternity brothers at the chapter house were aware that Piazza was “going to need help,” officials said.

“Tim Piazza might actually be a problem,” one brother wrote in a group text after finding the pledge.

“He fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs, hair-first,” the brother wrote at 11:53 p.m. “Going to need help."

But none of the brothers called 911 for Piazza until about 10:45 a.m. the next day, officials said. The Lebanon, N.J., native died Feb. 4 at Hershey Medical Center.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, Centre County prosecutors charged the 18 fraternity brothers with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and hazing. Six were charged with evidence tampering.

After acquiring video surveillance and texts, prosecutors revealed the frat brothers tried to wake up Piazza (photo) by slapping him, officials said. When that didn’t work, they placed a backpack with textbooks on his back so he wouldn’t roll over and choke on his own vomit.

Fraternity brothers also discussed how to cover up the fact that they didn’t seek medical attention for Piazza.

“If need be, just tell them what I told you guys, (we) found him behind (a bar) the next morning around 10 a.m. and he was freezing-cold, but we decided to call 911 instantly because the kid’s health was paramount,” one frat brother wrote in a text message that was deleted but later recovered by investigators.