3 Penn State Frat Brothers Jailed For Pledge's Hazing Death

CENTRE COUNTY, PA — Three former Penn State Beta Theta Pi fraternity brothers have been sentenced to jail time in connection with the 2017 hazing death of pledge Timothy Piazza.

Michael Bonatucci, Luke Visser and Joshua Kurczewski were sentenced Tuesday by Centre County Judge Brian Marshall to minimum sentences ranging from 30 days to three months, The Centre Daily Times first reported. A fourth former fraternity brother, Joseph Sala, was sentenced Tuesday to three months of house arrest.

Piazza, a Hunterdon County, N.J. native and a Hunterdon Central graduate, died in February 2017 after drinking heavily at a Beta Theta Pi pledge acceptance party then falling down a flight of stairs. No one summoned help until late the next morning, and Piazza died the following day at the hospital.

Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline

Bonatucci, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia; Visser, 21, of Encinitas, California; and Kurczewski, 20, of Erie all pleaded guilty to charges of hazing in January.

More than a dozen former fraternity brothers have been sentenced in connection with the fatal incident but Tuesday's were the first to include jail time. Additional sentencings are forthcoming.

Authorities began investigating the case immediately following the tragic event. In May 2017,a grand jury report revealed disturbing details into the hours before and after Piazza's fall, including that fellow brothers slapped him, poured water on him, and stepped over his limp body.

Video evidence from the scene showed Piazza being served 18 drinks in 82 minutes at various drinking stations before taking a fatal fall down the basement stairs, prosecutors said.

More serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault originally filed in November 2017 by Centre County Prosecutor Stacy Parks Miller against some of the Penn State fraternity brothers were dropped by a Centre County judge.

The case was then taken over by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.

RELATED

• Penn State Frat Party Victim's Family Shares Heartbreaking Details Of His Final Moments
• 'The Courtroom Is Silent': Reactions As Video Of Fatal Penn State Frat Party Is Played
• Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline
• 911 Audio From Penn State Frat House Death Released