MAY 5 2017, 5:58 PM ET

Penn State Fraternity Death: 18 Charged Over Pledge Timothy Piazza’s Fatal Fall

by ERIK ORTIZ

Nearly 20 members of a Penn State University fraternity are facing criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, after a pledge fatally fell down stairs during an alcohol-fueled event, Pennsylvania prosecutors announced Friday.

Eighteen brothers belonging to Beta Theta Pi were set to be arraigned Friday afternoon following a months-long investigation into the death of 19-year-old Timothy Piazza, a sophomore engineering major from Lebanon, New Jersey.

The charges include aggravated assault, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors and consumption of alcohol by a minor, said Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller. Eight of the brothers have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and the fraternity itself has been charged.

"I've said this before: This didn't have to happen," Piazza's father, Jim Piazza, said at a news conference after the charges were announced. "This is the result of a feeling of entitlement, flagrant disobedience of the law and disregard for moral values that was then exacerbated by egregious acts of self-preservation. Again, this did not have to happen."

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