Four members of a college fraternity were arrested in Oklahoma for leaving a dead cow on a rival fraternity’s lawn. Police charged Bennett Fady, Brody Shelby, Luke Ackerley, and Andrew King, all students at Oklahoma State University, with misdemeanor unlawful removal/disposal of a carcass.
The dead longhorn was secured to the porch in front of Oklahoma State’s FarmHouse fraternity, and had its abdomen cut open, revealing its internal organs. The University posted a statement on Twitter saying it was “appalled” by the “disturbing display of animal cruelty.” Subsequent investigations, however, found that the animal died around 36 hours earlier, meaning it was dead by the time the students got hold of it.
Authorities say the animal belonged to the family of another fraternity member, and arrest documents indicate that the incident was a cross-fraternity prank. The documents state that Bennett Fady was the alleged ringleader and initially suggested the plan, but other members of the group discouraged it. The files note “a significant amount of collective lack of cooperation.”
Nevertheless, prosecutors charged all four members, and all pleaded not guilty in court. Oklahoma State University said it will investigate the incident and take appropriate action.
Police responses to fraternity pranks are not uncommon, and some involve serious incidents. At the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in New Hampshire, 46 students were arrested and charged with offenses related to “hazing.” Police did not provide details on that case, but some hazing incidents have resulted in death.
When Penn State sophomore Tim Piazza during a hazing in 2017, prosecutors charged frat members with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, and a grand jury report criticized fraternity culture.
More recently, 20-year-old Stone Foltz died after he drank a “copious amount of alcohol” during a fraternity initiation ceremony. Foltz’s death occurred just two weeks after 19-year-old Adam Oakes’s body was found the morning after attending a frat party at Virginia Commonwealth University.
