NEW YORK _ Hazing hijinks at a "Christmas in October" frat party led to the death of a Cornell University freshman whose body was later found at the bottom of a gorge near the upstate New York campus, according to a new lawsuit.
First-year student Antonio Tsialas went missing for two days last October following an unauthorized event at the Phi Kappa Psi house in Ithaca on Oct. 24. When officials recovered his body at the bottom of a gorge at Fall Creek near Ithaca Falls, campus police said no foul play was suspected.
But a lawsuit filed by the 18-year-old's parents revealed new details about the hours leading up to Tsialas' death, including a frat house set up with seven different Christmas-themed drinking rooms that left many players "blackout drunk."
Many were vomiting and lost all memory of what they did next or how they eventually got back to their rooms, the lawsuit said.
"Antonio Tsialas was one of the unwitting victims of Phi Kappa Psi's 'Christmas in October' tradition," the lawsuit said. "He had no idea what he was getting himself into and had been hand-picked to attend the event because of the promise he demonstrated as a potential Phi Kappa Psi member.
"Sometime after the drinking games ended, Antonio Tsialas was allowed to leave the fraternity house intoxicated or was taken from the fraternity house while intoxicated with no efforts by any of the defendants to stop him or get him safely back to his dormitory," the lawsuit added.
To compound the matter, not a single defendant in the case has "come forward to tell Antonio's parents about the circumstances of their son's departure from the fraternity house that night and none have provided any information about where he went afterwards."
John Tsialas, the student's father, expressed his frustration over the lack of information.
"We have patiently waited for three months for answers about what happened to our son and no one will tell us anything," John Tsialas said Wednesday in a statement. "The fraternity members will not talk to us, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has not reached out or tried to help us in any way and the Cornell University Police Department will not let us see any part of their investigation. As a result, we have had to hire our own investigators, offer a $10,000 reward for information and file this lawsuit to hold those responsible for the events of that night accountable."
An autopsy confirmed that Tsialas was intoxicated at the time of his death and had sustained multiple injuries to his body. The student's wallet and keys were with him but his phone was missing.
The lawsuit names 11 defendants including Cornell University, Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, Inc., the chapter adviser and eight other fraternity officers and members.
"The arrogance of these fraternity officers and members is shocking," said family attorney David Bianchi. "They apparently believe that the rules don't apply to them, and while we still don't know exactly how Antonio died we do know that had this totally unauthorized and illegal hazing ritual not taken place, Antonio would be alive today."
Tsialas, from the Miami area, died just eight weeks after arriving at Cornell.
A university representative declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"At this time, Cornell University has not been made aware of any legal action by the Tsialas family, and we cannot comment on potential future litigation," a school spokesman, Joel Malina, said in a statement. "The Cornell University Police continue to actively investigate Antonio Tsialas's death."
