What we know: Rutgers student hurt in suspected hazing at frat house

NEW BRUNSWICK — A 19-year-old Rutgers University student was found critically hurt, after a disconnected 911 call on Oct. 15 led police to a fraternity house that has since been shut down.

The student was unconscious and being loaded into a private vehicle when officers arrived at the Alpha Sigma Phi house along College Avenue in New Brunswick.

On Friday, the national fraternity said that its own investigation shows evidence that hazing did occur and the Rutgers frat chapter was shut down.

The latest report: Oct. 24

Click to read: Rutgers frat hazing leads to permanent shutdown

Who is the student?

The 19-year-old is a Matawan resident whose identity has remained private.

After being hospitalized for a week, the student’s condition had improved to better than critical, police confirmed.

What is the frat house’s history of hazardous conditions?

The Alpha Sigma Phi frat house at 106 College Ave. was a mess, with documented safety issues going back for nearly a decade.

However, any previous open wire and electrical issues were listed as “abated” under closed violations in a state re-inspection report that was issued on Sept. 19.

Instead, existing safety concerns involved a fire alarm system, a carbon monoxide detector, removing debris that was blocking doors, and repeated failure to paint ceilings with an appropriate protective coating in two bathrooms and a hallway.

The Bureau of Housing Inspection, under the state's Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs, was due to re-inspect those violations in late October.

An “addendum” inspection done separately, with a report also issued on Sept. 19, did not list electrical or exposed wires among fresh issues to be fixed at the house, which is listed as having capacity for 11 residents.

New violations included a fire alarm not working in a common area; a "thumb lock" needing to be removed from a cellar door, and a tarp that had been laying for four months outside a rear door that posed a "trip and fall" hazard.

A re-inspection on those documented concerns was slated for late November.

What is the evidence of hazing?

“Based on our investigation, hazing did occur and as a result, the fraternity made the decision to close the chapter,“ Alpha Sigma Phi President and CEO Gordy Heminger said in a statement to New Jersey 101.5 on Oct. 24.

"Any member involved, directly or indirectly, will be permanently expelled," he added.
NJ.com reported that Heminger also said that the incident involved electricity, water and “underground and unreported new members."

The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has had no comment on potential case developments, as its own investigation remained active.

Read More: Rutgers hazing claim sparks fury from Penn State victim’s family

How does NJ law treat hazing offenses?

Hazing is a third-degree crime if it results in death or serious bodily injury in New Jersey, under a state law in effect since March 2022.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the law in a 2021 ceremony attended by New Jersey parents, Jim and Evelyn Piazza, whose 19-year-old son, Timothy, died in a fraternity hazing ritual at Penn State University in 2017.

The law also qualifies hazing as a fourth-degree crime, rather than a disorderly persons offense, if it results in bodily injury.

“We are greatly disturbed by what happened to this young man and we are very disappointed to see posts by parents at Rutgers who are commenting on how bad their kids were hazed and yet no one ever reported,” Evelyn Piazza previously said to New Jersey 101.5.

“Parents are part of the problem if they aren’t speaking up to keep their kids and other kids safe,” she said.

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