A former leader of a fraternity in Arizona has pleaded guilty to hazing and causing a pledge’s death.
Carter Eslick, 20, entered the plea to a felony hazing charge after the death of Colin Daniel Martinez, 18, in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff.
Eslick was accused of making Martinez drink excessively at an off-campus rush event for Northern Arizona University.
Martinez, who was pledging to the now-defunct Delta Tau Delta fraternity chapter at NAU, was found unresponsive on Jan. 31. An autopsy found his blood-alcohol level was 0.425%, which is considered life-threatening.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, Eslick would serve no more than four years of probation. A judge will determine the length and could also impose up to a year in jail at a Sept. 30 sentencing hearing.
Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said the plea doesn’t diminish the “profound harm caused or the sorrow of Colin’s death.”
Eslick was serving as the fraternity’s pledge master at the time, responsible for welcoming new members. He’s no longer a student at NAU.
Martinez was among four men pledging to Delta Tau Delta who shared two bottles of vodka to ensure they vomited, according to court documents.
Another pledge told police that he and three other pledges were brought to the party with pillowcases over their heads, Arizona’s Family reported.
Eslick purchased the alcohol for the rush event and explained the drinking game that led to Martinez’s death, state prosecutors said.
Witnesses reported adjusting Martinez’s sleeping position and checking his pulse and breathing to look for signs of alcohol poisoning throughout the night, the documents said.
The university suspended the Delta Tau Delta fraternity after Martinez’s death, and the national organization closed the NAU chapter.