11 New York fraternity brothers charged in alleged hazing death

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Eleven fraternity brothers have been charged in the death of a pledge who police say was forced to drink pitchers of water through a funnel until he vomited.

The Psi Epsilon Chi members are accused of criminally negligent homicide and hazing for the March 12 death of Plattsburgh State University of New York student Walter Dean Jennings, 18.

Police said the freshman died of water intoxication because of the forced drinking, which fraternity members allegedly called the "water torture." An autopsy determined that the water in Jennings' body caused his brain to swell.

The fraternity members also are accused of other hazing activities, and collectively face more than 150 charges.

Plattsburgh State, near Lake Champlain and about 20 miles south of the Canadian border, revoked the fraternity's charter in 1998 after alcohol was served to underage students.

Alumni of Psi Epsilon Chi, which was founded as a local fraternity in 1968, have agreed to put the fraternity house up for sale, said Kevin E. Jones, chairman of the board that owns Psi Epsilon Chi Inc.

"We're done," Jones told the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh. "We feel a civic obligation to pull the plug on this."

All the fraternity members had turned themselves in to police and were released on bail by Wednesday evening, Plattsburgh Police Chief Desmond Racicot said.

None of the fraternity members had listed phone numbers.