Seven years after college student Timothy Piazza died in a hazing incident at Penn State University, his grieving parents have shared more about the devastating night that changed their lives forever.
In a new docuseries titled Houses Of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, which premiered on A&E on August 12, the dark – and often toxic – side of fraternities and sororities at universities across the country has been exposed.
Episode three, which premieres on Monday, focuses on the tragic death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza in 2017.
Tim, who was studying engineering at Penn State, was one of 14 pledges brought to the house where they were ordered to consume 18 drinks in less than 90 minutes in a Beta hazing ritual called The Gauntlet.
The teenager, from New Jersey, collapsed and fell down a flight of stairs during a Beta Theta Pi hazing event. He died on February 4 after he was rushed into surgery with a ruptured spleen and Class IV hemorrhagic shock.
In a new docuseries titled Houses Of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life, which premiered on A&E on August 12, the dark side of fraternities and sororities has been exposed
The university enacted more than a dozen changes to its oversight and compliance rules for Greek life following Timothy’s death at the fraternity on campus, with the teenager’s parents, Evelyn and James Piazza, advocating for desperately needed changes.
Tim’s parents have gone on to speak to thousands of students at college campuses across the country in a bid to end hazing, with Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law passing in 2018, making hazing a felony in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Jim and Evelyn, along with Tim’s brother Mike and Beta Theta Pi member Kordel Davis – who tried to help Tim after he fell, were interviewed for the series, in addition to anti-hazing attorneys and Greek life experts.
Tim’s father told the DailyMail.com that the university ‘lacked enforcement,’ as hazing was a known problem at Penn State at the time.
‘They had a task force, and it was very clear in that task force findings that hazing was happening. It was a problem, but nothing was ever done with the results of that task force until Tim died,’ Jim explained.
He heartbreakingly added that Tim would not have thought it was even ‘plausible’ that he would be put in danger the way he was, nor would he stand to see someone else suffer how he did.
‘I can’t imagine Tim would have ever thought that he would be entering a room of chaos like that, and be put in harm’s way, and that no one would care if he was in need of help,’ he said.
Jim added: ‘That’s not the type of guy he was. I mean, if somebody needed help, he would get them help.’
Tim’s parents – Evelyn and James Piazza – have been advocating for desperately needed changes advised parents to ‘just talk about the forms of hazing’
Tim, who was studying engineering at Penn State, was one of 14 pledges brought to the house where they were ordered to consume 18 drinks in less than 90 minutes in a Beta hazing ritual
The Piazza family: Evelyn, Mike, Jim and Tim pictured together. Tim died from injuries he suffered during initiation night for the pledges of Penn State’s Beta Theta Pi
The parents added that most fraternities were aware of what happens behind closed doors and had banned hard alcohol from fraternity houses.
‘There was a whole host of changes that were put in place by the university right after Tim’s passing,’ Jim explained.
‘A lot of it is met with objection but it’s to their credit that Penn State has held those changes up, and as far as we know, they will continue to and hopefully it deters the hazing a bit,’ the passionate father added.
Some of the changes Penn State made to Greek life after Tim’s passing include limiting the amount of socials that students could have, requiring a bartender to serve alcohol and reiterated that hard alcohol wasn’t allowed.
‘We want people to know that the laws have been changed in a number of states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey in Tim’s name, that will make it a felony if someone dies or experiences severe bodily injury [from hazing],’ Jim explained.
The case prompted the Timothy Piazza Antihazing Law, which introduced felony offenses for serious injuries or deaths caused by hazing, and has been signed into law by the governors of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The house’s elaborate video security system recorded Tim stumbling to a couch on the first floor before falling down 15 steps after opening a door to the basement.
Video showed that Tim collapsed just before 11.30pm and no one came to his assistance.
He was then seen repeatedly collapsing as he attempted to crawl, rolled around the floor, vomited in his sleep, and went in-and-out of consciousness over the course of the next eight hours.
Tim’s father, Jim Piazza, told the DailyMail.com that the university ‘lacked enforcement,’ as hazing was a known problem at Penn State at the time
As the hours passed he was body-slammed into a couch by one frat member, had a beer or multiple beers dumped on him by another, and later lay comatose while one young man threw his shoes at the visibly inebriated college student.
Some frat members had already left for class by the time Piazza was carried to a couch a little after 10am, but it was another 45 minutes before 911 was called.
Three frat members were sentenced to between 30 days and nine months in prison in April 2019 for their roles in the death.
In 2024, Beta Theta Pi president Brendan Young and vice-president Daniel Casey pleaded guilty to 15 counts of hazing and reckless endangerment. They will be sentenced on October 1.
Jim and Evelyn said they hoped the docuseries could help bring more attention to the dangerous hazing that happened in colleges and to spur a conversation between parents and children.
‘We’re really hoping that parents and their kids can talk about [hazing] and have the open conversation and and say this is not okay, don’t let this happen to you, don’t you dare do this to another person,’ Evelyn said.
She advised parents to ‘just talk about the forms of hazing,’ with their kids and educate them on what to look out for and how to report it and to call for help.
‘There is no acceptable form of hazing, and hazing is always meant to hurt and demean and embarrass somebody,’ Evelyn pointed out. ‘There is nothing positive or bonding about it.’
‘If somebody needs help, just call for help. It’s not hard, and it could save a life,’ he said.
Houses Of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life episode 3 Hazed To Death premieres Monday, August 19 at 9pm ET/PT.
