Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texts Become Evidence In Hearing On Penn State Pledge Death

Chris Knight
/
AP
Brendan Young Jr., walks out for a lunch break during his preliminary hearing on charges related to the amazing death of Timothy Piazza at the Penn State's Beta Theta Pi fraternity, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, June 12, 2017

A judge is hearing evidence of worried texts from Penn State fraternity brothers as he considers whether there's enough evidence to send charges related to a pledge's death to county court for trial.

Testimony resumed Monday in a preliminary hearing for the Beta Theta Pi chapter and 16 of its members, accused in the February death of 19-year-old pledge Tim Piazza after a night of heavy drinking.

Prosecutors introduced a text from the house pledge master that said "it's over" and that he didn't "want to go to jail" for it.

Another text between fraternity brothers, as Piazza was near death in a hospital, says "he drank because we hazed him."

Authorities say Piazza, of Lebanon, New Jersey, suffered severe head and abdominal injuries before he died. Help wasn't summoned until the next morning.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.