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5 From Baruch College Face Murder Charges in 2013 Fraternity Hazing

Chun Hsien Deng was 19.

Five fraternity members from Baruch College in Manhattan will face murder charges in Pennsylvania for their involvement in the death of a freshman who was hazed during a rural retreat in 2013, officials said on Monday.

A grand jury in Monroe County, Pa., recently recommended that five people face third-degree murder charges and that a total of 37 would face a range of criminal charges, including assault, hindering apprehension and hazing in Chun Hsien Deng’s death.

The authorities said Mr. Deng, 19, known as Michael, died on Dec. 9, 2013, after he was blindfolded and made to wear a backpack weighted with sand while trying to make his way across a frozen yard as members of the fraternity, Pi Delta Psi, tried to tackle him. During at least one tackle, he was lifted up and dropped on the ground in a move known as spearing, according to the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department. He complained his head hurt but continued participating and was eventually knocked out, the police said in a news release.

After Mr. Deng was knocked unconscious, the authorities said the fraternity members delayed in seeking medical help.

E. David Christine, the Monroe County district attorney, said his office would follow the recommendations of the grand jury. “We believe the recommendations were sound and worthy of action on the part of the commonwealth,” Mr. Christine said.

Prosecutors have started filing the charges and expect all the charges to be filed within the coming weeks, he said.

Those facing third-degree murder charges are Charles Lai, Kenny Kwan, Raymond Lam, Daniel Li and Sheldon Wong. The fraternity is also being charged, officials said. Third-degree murder, which does not involve premeditation or a specific intent to kill, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Reached by telephone at his home in Flushing, Queens, Mr. Lam said he was aware of the charges but referred further questions to his lawyer, who could not be reached for comment. Efforts on Monday night to reach the four others facing third-degree murder charges or to determine the identity of their lawyers were unsuccessful.

Mr. Christine said the investigation had been lengthy because the authorities had to figure out who of the dozens who were present for the retreat were most involved in the hazing. He said investigators had to “try and make sure people were put in the right category of involvement.”

Mr. Deng’s parents applauded the criminal charges in a statement released on Monday. Their son’s death, they said, was tragic and entirely preventable.

“Too many families have been devastated as a result of fraternity hazing, with at least one student dying every year from hazing since 1970,” the Dengs said. “Fraternities and their members must be held accountable, and this step by authorities is an important one.”

In Mr. Deng’s honor, the family said it would continue pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit seeking changes in Pi Delta Psi and other fraternities, so “other parents will be spared the loss of a precious child.” In light of the charges, the family plans to amend the suit to take into account the names and roles of those involved in Mr. Deng’s death.

Among the changes the family is seeking in the lawsuit, which was filed in April, is an end to the pledging process, their lawyer, Douglas E. Fierberg, said in a telephone interview on Monday. “If there was no pledging process,” he said, “Michael would not be dead.”

After the death, Baruch permenently banned the Pi Delta Psi fraternity. Starting in the fall of 2014, Baruch also instituted a suspension of all pledging activities for campus Greek Life organizations. That suspension was extended for three years this spring.

Spokesmen for Baruch College, part of the City University of New York, did not return multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment on Monday night. Reached by telephone on Monday, Victor Yin, the national vice president of Pi Delta Psi, said that he had not heard about the charges.

Mr. Deng was one of four pledges who joined members of Pi Delta Psi on an annual weekend retreat at a rental house in the Poconos, where he took part in a ritual called the Glass Ceiling.

After he was seriously injured and unconscious, fraternity members carried him inside the house, where they contacted a national fraternity official, who told them to hide fraternity items, the police said. Some members left the house, while others changed his clothes and conducted searches to diagnose his symptoms.

At some point, it was reported that Mr. Deng was having trouble breathing, the police said. Three fraternity members put him in a car and drove him to a hospital a half-hour away. By the time he arrived, he was unable to be revived. He died the next morning of severe trauma to the head, officials said.

A correction was made on 
Sept. 16, 2015

An article on Tuesday about third-degree murder charges being brought against five students in the 2013 fraternity hazing death of a Baruch College student in Pennsylvania referred incompletely to action taken by the college in the wake of the episode. The college permanently banned the Pi Delta Psi fraternity; it did not merely suspend its rights on campus while conducting an investigation. The college also suspended all pledging activities for campus Greek Life organizations, not only those of Pi Delta Psi.

How we handle corrections

Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 18 of the New York edition with the headline: 5 From Baruch College Face Murder Charges in 2013 Fraternity Hazing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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