7 plead not guilty in Ohio college student’s alleged hazing death

Seven men who were indicted over the hazing death of Stone Foltz, a 20-year-old student at Bowling Green State University, have pleaded not guilty.

ABC News reported Thursday that Jacob Krinn, 20, of Delaware, Ohio; Daylen Dunson, 20, of Cleveland; Troy Henricksen, 23, of Grove City, Ohio; Canyon Caldwell, 21, of Dublin, Ohio; Niall Sweeney, 21, of Erie, Pa.; Jarrett Prizel, 19, of Olean, N.Y.; and Aaron Lehane, 21, of Loveland, Ohio, all pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Six of the men appeared in person in court to hear the charges, which include first-degree felony manslaughter, reckless homicide and hazing, according to ABC News. Foltz’s parents also attended the hearing.

Foltz, a sophomore business student, died in March, three days after he was allegedly forced to drink a large amount of alcohol during a fraternity hazing ritual at Bowling Green’s chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The fraternity has since been stripped of its status as a student organization at Bowling Green.

An Ohio jury indicted eight students last month over Stone’s death. One of those charged, however, had their misdemeanors dismissed, according to ABC News.

All seven men were subsequently released on their own recognizance, and ordered to have no contact with their co-defendants or the Foltz family, according to ABC News. Additionally, they are prohibited from entering the university grounds, consuming alcohol or using social media.

“While arraignments are routine in the court of law, it is anything but routine for the Foltz family. Their anguish only intensifies with every step of the legal process, but they will do what is necessary to fight for their son,” Foltz family attorneys Rex Elliott and Sean Alto said in a statement to The Hill.

“Injury and death as a result of hazing must end now. We demand college and university presidents institute zero-tolerance policies and that the Ohio legislature immediately takes steps to pass Collin’s Law to make transparency and consequences clear for parents and their children in the state of Ohio. No other parent should have to relive their worst nightmare in a court of law,” the lawyers added.

The attorneys were referring to a bill introduced in the Ohio state Senate, dubbed Collin’s Law, that would increase legal punishments for hazing, expand education for college students on hazing and increase transparency at the university level, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The legislation is named after Collin Wiant, a freshman at Ohio University, who died as a result of hazing in 2018, according to the newspaper.

The push for new legislation, however, was sparked following the death of Foltz, the Dispatch noted.

According to ABC News, Foltz’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in March against the fraternity and a number of its members.

Updated at 1:26 p.m.