Grand jury indicts 4 in death of Louisiana State University frat pledge

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A grand jury indicted four people Thursday in the death of a Louisiana State University student whose blood-alcohol content was more than six times the legal limit for driving after fraternity members allegedly subjected him to a hazing ritual.

The state grand jury issued the indictments six months after 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver died at a hospital after a night of drinking at the Phi Delta Theta house on LSU's campus. Fraternity members found the freshman from Roswell, Georgia, lying on a couch and couldn't tell if he was breathing.

The jury indicted Matthew Alexander Naquin, 20, of Boerne, Texas, on a felony negligent homicide charge, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. Three others were indicted on a misdemeanor charge of hazing: Sean-Paul Gott, 21, of Lafayette, Louisiana; Ryan Isto, 19, of Baton Rouge; and Patrick Forde, 21, of Westwood, Massachusetts. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to a maximum of 30 days in jail.

Police originally arrested 10 people in October, but prosecutors presented the grand jury with evidence of possible charges against nine of them. Ultimately, the grand jury indicted only four.

Read more: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/texas/article/Grand-jury-indicts-4-in-death-of-university-frat-12756752.php