Family files wrongful-death lawsuit against fraternity
Stone Foltz was forced to consume the equivalent of 40 shots of hard liquor in as little as 18 minutes at a fraternity hazing ritual and was left by his fraternity brothers to die, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the Delta Beta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Bowling Green State University.
The civil suit, filed Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by Columbus attorney Rex Elliot, alleges that Foltz was subjected to “extensive hazing” that ultimately led to his death.
Foltz, 20, a 2019 graduate of Buckeye Valley High School in Delaware County, died March 7 of fatal alcohol intoxication after he consumed what his family’s attorney said was “a copious amount of alcohol” at a fraternity ritual.
Defendants listed in the lawsuit include:
■ the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity,
Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee
■ the Delta Beta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at Bowling Green State University
■ Daylen X. Dunson, Troy M. Henricksen, Jarret Prizel, Garrett Hord, Jamir Dodson, Benjamin L. Boyer, Niall R. Sweeney, listed as both individuals and officers in the chapter
■Jacob A. Krinn, Stone’s “Bigbrother” at pi kappa alpha
■ Canyon Caldwell
■ Aaron Lehane
■ 10 John Does
Foltz’s estate is overseen by his mother, Shari Foltz.
“By filing a civil complaint on behalf of Stone Foltz and the Foltz family, we are doing what is necessary to hold the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity, the local fraternity chapter, and individuals accountable for their behavior that led to Stone Foltz’s death,” Elliot said.
“The complaint details a disturbing history of hazing within the international fraternity dating back almost 60 years, culminating in the tragic wrongful death of Stone Foltz. While nothing can bring Stone back to his family, we are confident the family will get justice and accountability through the legal system.”
The wrongful-death lawsuit sheds more light on the events that led up to Foltz’s death and the fraternity’s long history of hazing. Hazing incidents associated with Pi Kappa Alpha, better known on campus as PIKE, date back decades, according to the lawsuit.
Bowling Green’s Delta Beta chapter of PIKE has had its own history with hazing before Foltz even graduated from high school.
In December 2018, an anonymous tip reported that new PIKE members were required to “strip down into their underwear and all join each other into this large hole that had been dug,” according to thelawsuit. The members were then made to fight each other out of the hole and were pushed back in if they made it out.
BGSU put the Delta Beta chapter of PIKE on probation from Dec. 9, 2019 to May 8, 2020.
Foltz was a member of the Spring 2021 pledge class of
PIKE, known as the Alpha Mu Class. The new member calendar for pledges listed seven types of events: education, brotherhood, social, fundraiser, philanthropy, ritual, and BGSU (school-related functions). Some of the calendar events included things like firepit, bowling, wellness day and pledge education.
On Feb. 18, there was a pledge event called “Pledge Education (Objects)” which began around 10 p.m. Foltz and the other pledges were forced to memorize and recite PIKE’S creed and/ or preamble and were not allowed to leave until 2 a.m. the following morning, according to the lawsuit.
On March 4, Foltz attended two scheduled events: “Pledge Ed, Round Robin Before Big/little” which was categorized as an education event, and “Big/little”, which was categorized as a ritual.
The events began around 9 p.m. at the fraternity’s off-campus annex house. Many of the defendants were present at the ritual. One of the defendants, Troy Henricksen, instructed Foltz and the other pledges that they would need to inform faculty members of their likely absence from class the following day, according to the lawsuit.
Pledges were handed a bottle of alcohol by their fraternity Big Brothers, equaling about 40 shots of liquor, the suit says, and were forced to consume the entire bottle before they could leave.
Foltz finished his bottle in about 18 minutes, according to the lawsuit. About 10 p.m., Jacob Krinn and others left the house with Foltz. Krinn and others dropped Stone Foltz off at his apartment.
“Jacob Krinn was supposed to spend the night with Stone Foltz to make sure he was safe and to take care of him. Jacob Krinn did not stay with Stone Foltz,” the lawsuit said. “Instead, Stone Foltz was taken from the car into his apartment and left alone on the couch to die.”