Authorities in Baton Rouge on Friday announced that an arrest had been made over an off-campus fraternity hazing ritual incident that caused the death of a Southern University student.
According to The Associated Press, authorities also said they’re expecting to arrest two more suspects in connection with 20-year-old Caleb Wilson’s death. Wilson, a Southern University mechanical engineering junior, passed away while he was partaking in an alleged Omega Psi Phi fraternity ritual on February 27, Face2Face Africa previously reported.
“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.
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The suspect arrested in connection with Wilson’s death was identified as Caleb McCray, a 23-year-old fraternity member. He has since been charged with manslaughter and felony criminal hazing.
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.
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Initial reports had stated that the February 27 incident happened at a Baton Rouge BREC park, but the WAFB I-TEAM reported that the fraternity members fabricated that side of the story.
Sources familiar with the investigation into the fatal incident told the news outlet that Wilson and other Omega Psi Phi pledges were actually at a Baton Rouge warehouse when he collapsed after being punched in the chest.
The fraternity ritual that allegedly caused Wilson’s death was said to be unauthorized. The 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.
The police arrest warrant affidavit stated that McCray and at least two other people had put on boxing gloves when they punched Wilson and the other pledges, The Associated Press reported.
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.
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.
The affidavit, however, stated that McCray did not punch Wilson with the aim of causing him “death or great bodily harm.” “I maintain my client’s innocence and urge the public to withhold rushing to judgment until all the evidence is heard,” McCray’s attorney, Phillip Robinson, said.
Meanwhile, Southern University has since suspended fraternities and pledging.
