Earlier this month, police released the surveillance footage and a 144-page report of the night Mizzou Fiji fraternity members hazed and grievously injured Danny Santulli. The horrifying footage showed Danny having to drink an entire bottle of vodka while fraternity members poured beer down his throat. The real-time video showed fraternity members dumping Danny on a couch after collapsing. While clearly in need of emergency medical aid, no one called 911. Instead, they picked him up to carry him to a car and then dropped him on his head as they exited the frat house. Danny was unresponsive and not breathing. Subsequent tests would confirm his blood alcohol level at more than five times the legal limit to drive.
As a result of what happened to him, Danny cannot speak, walk, or communicate in any way, and he has lost his eyesight. He will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
Our law firm initially filed suit against 23 defendants, and all of those claims have been settled. Now, after reviewing the surveillance video and the police report, two additional defendants were sued: one fraternity member who poured the beer down Danny’s throat and another who abandoned Danny at a crucial moment when he needed help. Those two claims are pending.
Online Petition Demands Felony Charges for Fraternity Members
After eight months with everything they need to proceed with criminal charges, the Boone County prosecutor’s office has so far declined to charge any Mizzou Fiji member with hazing despite clear evidence that Danny Santulli was injured in a hazing ritual. To date, only one fraternity member has been charged, and it was only for a minor non-hazing-related misdemeanor.
The Columbia Daily Tribune has reported that there is now an online drive petition demanding that the Boone County prosecutor do his job and file felony charges against the fraternity members who hazed Danny and so horribly injured him. The petition was started by the family of Danny’s sister’s roommate, who also attends the University of Missouri, who are angry that Missouri’s hazing law is not being enforced.
“If Danny’s case doesn’t qualify as hazing, you may as well abolish the statute,” she says. “We need to hold these kids accountable.” Our firm wholeheartedly agrees; in an interview with ABC News last week, David Bianchi said, “if you’re not going to enforce the hazing laws in Missouri under these circumstances, then you’re never going to enforce them.”
Our firm has been calling on the Boone County prosecutor to enforce Missouri’s hazing statute for Danny’s sake, but also to ensure that no one else has to suffer as the Santulli family has suffered.