Seven years after Timothy Piazza’s untimely death at Penn State University, his parents are speaking out about the night that forever altered their lives.
A&E’s new docuseries, “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life,” sheds light on the dark and often toxic culture of fraternities and sororities at universities nationwide.
Episode three, airing tonight, delves into the story of 19-year-old Tim Piazza’s death in 2017.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Piazza, died after an alcohol-fueled hazing ritual in the Beta Theta Pi frat. While his blood-alcohol level was measured at four times the legal limit, his death came from injuries suffered in several falls down frat house stairs and internal bleeding unchecked because no one called an ambulance.
Security camera video from inside the house captured much of what happened at the party that night.
Piazza was among 14 pledges forced to consume 18 drinks in under 90 minutes during a Beta Theta Pi hazing ritual called “The Gauntlet.”
He ended up collapsing and tumbling down a flight of stairs during the event. He died on February 4 after undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen and Class IV hemorrhagic shock.
In an interview with DailyMail, Piazza’s father, Jim, said the school had a known problem with hazing before his son’s death.
“They had a task force, and it was very clear in that task force findings that hazing was happening. It was a problem, but nothing was ever done with the results of that task force until Tim died.”
“I can’t imagine Tim would have ever thought that he would be entering a room of chaos like that, and be put in harm’s way, and that no one would care if he was in need of help.”
After Piazza passed away, Penn State implemented several changes to Greek life, including reducing the number of social events students could hold, mandating that alcohol be served only by a bartender, and reinforcing the ban on hard alcohol.
The case led to the Timothy Piazza Antihazing Law, which established felony charges for hazing-related injuries or deaths. Governors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have since signed it into law.
“We’re really hoping that parents and their kids can talk about [hazing] and have the open conversation and say this is not okay, don’t let this happen to you, don’t you dare do this to another person,’ Piazza’s mother, Evelyn, said.
‘There is no acceptable form of hazing, and hazing is always meant to hurt and demean and embarrass somebody,’ Evelyn pointed out. ‘There is nothing positive or bonding about it.’
The third episode of “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, titled Hazed to Death,” premieres Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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[Featured image: Timothy Piazza and his parents/Handout]
