Students indicted after death of Bowling Green sophomore

Eight current and former students were indicted on charges including manslaughter and hazing Wednesday after an alleged alcohol-fueled hazing incident ended with a student’s death at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University. 

Stone Foltz, 20, died on. March 7, three days after attending a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity event at an off-campus house. The Lucas County Coroner ruled his death an accident as the result of a fatal level of alcohol intoxication during a hazing incident. 

Prosecutors said Foltz was required to attend the fraternity event along with other new members. After he was dropped off at his apartment that night, his family’s lawyer said, a roommate found him unresponsive. Prosecutors said that when first responders arrived, his roommate was performing CPR on Foltz.

A roommate of another student who was pledging at the frat told CBS affiliate WTOL the student told him pledges had to drink “a handle” of alcohol. A handle of alcohol is a 1.75 mL bottle of liquor, which is equal to about 40 1.5-ounce shots.

A grand jury indicted six current Bowling Green students and two prior students on various felony and misdemeanor charges that included felony involuntary manslaughter, misdemeanor hazing, tampering with evidence and reckless homicide. 

Jacob Krinn, 20, of Delaware, Ohio, was the only member of the group to be charged with first-degree manslaughter, a charge that alleges the defendant caused a death by committing or attempting to commit a felony. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 11 years in prison. Krinn also faces charges of felonious assault, which alleges the defendant caused serious physical harm to another person, which and carries a maximum penalty of 8 years in prison.

Other defendants face a combination of charges, including third-degree felony manslaughter, reckless homicide, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice — each of which carries maximum penalties of three years in prison. 

In a statement to WTOL, Foltz’s family said that they were grateful for law enforcement and prosecutors’ “hard work” and were “confident that they will make sure justice is served.”

The family also said the indictment was “just one step in the right direction” and called for government officials and university presidents to take “swift action” to abolish fraternity hazing. 

“We are living every parent’s worst nightmare and will not be at peace until fraternity hazing is seen for what it truly is — abuse. It’s unacceptable, and in Stone’s case, it was fatal,” the statement said. “How many injuries and deaths will it take for people in positions of power to do the right thing?”

Bowling Green State University said after his death that Foltz was a sophomore business major from Delaware County, Ohio.