Authorities in Baton Rouge have arrested two more suspects in connection with the off-campus fraternity hazing death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson. As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, authorities arrested the first suspect, Caleb McCray, last week and charged him with manslaughter and felony criminal hazing.
The two other suspects arrested in connection with Wilson’s death were identified as Isaiah Smith and Kyle Thurman, FOX 8 reported. Wilson, a Southern University mechanical engineering junior, passed away while he was partaking in an alleged Omega Psi Phi fraternity ritual on February 27.
“Caleb Wilson died as a direct result of a hazing incident where he was punched in the chest multiple times while pledging to Omega Psi Phi fraternity,” Baton Rouge Police Department Chief Thomas Morse Jr. told reporters, per The Associated Press.
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Authorities said Smith and Thurman similarly punched the pledges, adding that they have since been charged with criminal hazing counts over their actions, FOX 8 reported. Authorities said Smith was also a member of the fraternity chapter and its “Dean of Pledges.”
The fraternity ritual that allegedly caused Wilson’s death was said to be unauthorized. Sources said that the deceased 20-year-old and eight other pledges had formed a line, and all of them were allegedly made to take chest punches.
A police arrest warrant affidavit stated that McCray, also a fraternity member, and at least two other people had put on boxing gloves when they punched Wilson and the other pledges, The Associated Press reported.
In 2018, lawmakers in Louisiana passed an anti-hazing law known as the Max Gruver Act. The law can be used to bring felony charges against people implicated in hazing.
The act states that any person found guilty after someone dies or sustains critical injuries from hazing can be fined up to $10,000 and handed a 5-year prison sentence. The law also allows for penalties to be brought against organizations, representatives and officers of an organization, and educational institutions.
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore also said the act potentially allows for penalties to be brought against Omega Psi Phi, The Associated Press reported. The act was named after Max Gruver, a Louisiana State University student who suffered an alcohol poisoning-related death following a Phi Delta Theta fraternity hazing ritual.
Authorities claim that Smith punched at least one pledge while Thurman and McCray punched the others. The affidavit stated that Wilson “collapsed to the floor” and became “unresponsive” after McCray landed four punches to his chest. “Wilson appeared to suffer a seizure and lose control of his bodily function,” the affidavit added. The affidavit, however, stated that McCray did not punch Wilson with the aim of causing him “death or great bodily harm.”
After Wilson collapsed, authorities said the fraternity leaders took the other pledges to a different room before putting the deceased victim in different clothes. They then put the victim in Smith’s car and took him to the hospital, FOX 8 reported.
Morse said that the men who took Wilson to the hospital after the incident claimed that the 20-year-old “collapsed while playing basketball at a park.” But that was untrue as Wilson actually collapsed at a warehouse.
Southern University has since suspended fraternities and pledging.
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