New Video Shows Penn State’s Piazza Was Given 18 Drinks in 82 Minutes

Prosecutors say the FBI was able to recover deleted video footage from security cameras at Penn State’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

New Video Shows Penn State’s Piazza Was Given 18 Drinks in 82 Minutes

In September, a judge dropped the most severe charges against several fraternity members.

New charges have been filed against 17 members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in connection with the February hazing death of Penn State student Timothy Piazza.

Prosecutors held a news conference Monday, indicating a newly-obtained video shows fraternity members serving Piazza excessive quantities of alcohol, reports NPR. Some of the new charges include involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and reckless endangering another person.

The charges have been filed against 12 members and have been added to the existing charges against five others.

Back in September, Magisterial District Judge Allen W. Sinclair dropped the charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and simple assault against eight fraternity members.

Centre County district attorney Stacy Parks Miller said she planned to refile the involuntary manslaughter charges with a different judge.

During the news conference, Miller said Piazza received “at least 18 drinks in over 1 hour and 22 minutes” and he “never once obtained any of those drinks for himself. Brothers [in the fraternity] were coming up to him and giving him those drinks.”

The newly recovered video footage comes from basement cameras that fraternity members claim were inoperable on Bid Acceptance Night.

Piazza died from excessive alcohol consumption and a traumatic head injury sustained after he fell down basement stairs several times, striking his head on a metal railing.

State College Police discovered that the basement camera footage had been manually deleted just as the equipment was being turned over to police.

“State College Police sent the box to the FBI, whose agents were able to restore the video from the deleted hard drive,” says the district attorney’s office.

Also at Monday’s news conference, Timothy’s father, Jim, says he is committed to pursuing the charges against the fraternity members. He described his son as a happy and caring person who was killed at the hands of those he was seeking friendship from.

“They claimed ‘We don’t know what happened other than what was seen in the upstairs video, and we don’t know what happened in the basement.’ Guess what guys, now we know,” says Jim.

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Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.

Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.

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2 responses to “New Video Shows Penn State’s Piazza Was Given 18 Drinks in 82 Minutes”

  1. Brooke Mitman says:

    As a Penn Stater involved with Greek life during my 4 years there (1986-90), it’s amazing I’m alive. I accept full responsibility for my actions while there but the environment at PSU -and other American colleges and Universities – continues to allow Ana accept it. This has gone on too long and too many people have been injured and have died. We need to face the truth: the hearts, minds, souls and bodies of our children/students are at risk if we continue to ignore the realities of these choices that are made and why. We need a multi-pronged approach nationwide to heal and deal with current situations and focus on preventive measures/education with our youth. It begins with us (the parents modeling at home) and partnering with high schools, colleges and universities to create a culture of Life-giving activities, not dangerous and potentially deadly ones. I pledge to do my part to educate and assist in righting these incidents that are clearly wrong. My heart breaks for the Piazzas and I am praying we will take this seriously so that their son’s death is not in vain.

  2. Dan Forney says:

    There is a need for training in how to build up an individual in lieu of subjecting them to poison (excessive alcohol) and humiliation at the hands of desired friends. This only trains the victim to continue that behavior and subjects them to horrific risks. Today’s American society is devoid of leadership examples for young men to follow. 1/3rd of young men entering college come from single parent homes, many of which have no father figure present nor proper guidance. The desire for acceptance from a peer group will always be a need to be filled. More mature men need to step up and mentor the future leaders of tomorrow. Your gifts, talent and knowledge are to serve others and there are many who need it.

    For me, I’ve been doing it for 30 years.

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