8 indicted in alcohol-related death after BGSU fraternity party

TOLEDO >> Seven college students in Ohio and another man were indicted in the alcohol-related death of a 20-year-old who was found unconscious after a fraternity party, prosecutors said Thursday.

A grand jury indicted the eight on charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to hazing.

Stone Foltz, 20, died three days after he and other fraternity pledges at Bowling Green State University were each given and encouraged to finish an entire bottle of alcohol at the March 4 offcampus party, university officials have said.

Foltz, a business major from Delaware, Ohio, was found unconscious by a roommate after members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity dropped him off at his apartment, according to an attorney for Foltz’s parents. He was put on life support and died after his family arranged for his organs to be donated.

All but one of the men indicted are students at Bowling Green, ranging in age from 19 to 23.

Multiple people were at the event, which was an initiation for new fraternity members where hazing was a key part of the gathering, said Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson.

Six were charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, Dobson said.

Other charges included reckless homicide, felonious assault, hazing, violating underage alcohol laws and obstructing official business.

The hazing and failing to comply with underage alcohol laws reflect that those charged gave copious amounts of alcohol to Foltz and the other new fraternity members, Dobson said.

Attorneys for Foltz’s family called the charges “one step in the right direction,” but said government and university leaders must do more to end hazing.