Campus Hazing and Fraternity Misconduct

An autopsy released Monday shows that Northern Arizona University freshman Colin Daniel Martinez, 18, died of alcohol poisoning with a blood-alcohol level of 0.425% after a Jan. 31 Delta Tau Delta fraternity rush event at a house near the Flagstaff campus. Police say Martinez was one of four fraternity candidates told to share two bottles of vodka until they vomited, and witnesses later described repeatedly checking his breathing and searching online for alcohol-poisoning symptoms before he was found unresponsive and could not be resuscitated. Three chapter officers — new member educator Carter Eslick, vice president Ryan Creech and treasurer Riley Cass, all 20 — have been arrested on suspicion of hazing, and the Coconino County Attorney’s Office is now reviewing the case to decide on formal charges. NAU has suspended the chapter and the national Delta Tau Delta organization has since voted to permanently close it, while both the university and the fraternity issued statements condemning hazing and stressing their anti-hazing policies. The case adds to a long pattern of fraternity-related deaths that have driven anti-hazing legislation in multiple states and is likely to fuel fresh calls for tougher criminal penalties and stricter enforcement of campus Greek-life rules.