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8 charged with manslaughter in fraternity hazing death at Penn State

The charges come months after a sophomore died after hazing at a fraternity party.

<p>The Centre County Courthouse in 2016. </p><p><em>(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)</em></p>

Eight members of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Pennsylvania State University are being charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault in the death of Tim Piazza, a Penn State sophomore who died after participating in hazing rituals at the fraternity house in February, according to documents from the Centre County District Attorney’s office.

Eighteen men total, all fraternity members, are being charged with crimes including hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, tampering with evidence and more.

This story originally appeared on USA TODAY College.

Beta Theta Pi, the fraternity that Piazza was pledging when he died, is also being criminally charged, with a total of 147 charges.

Piazza died after consuming massive amounts of alcohol during a hazing ritual and then falling down a flight of stairs, then falling again, repeatedly throughout the night on Feb. 2, 2017. He died of irreversible spleen and brain stem damage, according to the district attorney.

“This is a very sad day,” Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said in a press conference after a months-long grand jury investigation. “It’s been sad ever since we lost a child for reasons that are totally preventable. We are all heartbroken as we stand here.”

Miller was joined by Piazza’s parents, who made a brief statement eulogizing their son and saying his death “did not have to happen.”

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