Overview
- Monday, Carter Thomas Eslick entered a guilty plea to one Class 4 felony hazing count in the death of 18-year-old Colin Martinez.
- Prosecutors say Eslick bought the alcohol and explained a forced drinking game at an off‑campus rush event that led to Martinez’s extreme intoxication.
- An autopsy released after Martinez’s late‑January death found he died of alcohol poisoning with a blood‑alcohol level reported at 0.425 percent.
- The plea agreement calls for probation rather than prison but a judge must accept the deal at a Sept. 30 hearing; the charge still carries potential prison time, fines up to $150,000, and restitution.
- The case has already prompted the university and national Delta Tau Delta to suspend or close the chapter and has intensified scrutiny of off‑campus fraternity rush practices and campus safety.