Police have filed charges against two members of a Dartmouth College fraternity after another of their members was found dead in the Connecticut River following a party this summer.
Won Jang, a 20-year-old member of the Beta Alpha Omega fraternity from Delaware, had been attending a party hosted by members of the Alpha Phi sorority at an off-campus apartment building, the Hanover Police Department said.
Most of the party attendees, police said were underage drinking, the alcohol provided by members of the fraternity who were over 21.
“At the end of the party, several attendees made a spontaneous decision to swim in the river,” police said. “While at the river, a heavy rainstorm hit the area, and many individuals then left the river in various groups. No one in these groups noticed that Jang was unaccounted for.”
Jang’s body was found the next day, and an autopsy determined that he had drowned. His blod alcohol level was found to be .167, and friends and family told police that he could not swim.
Police concluded their investigation into the death and charged two members of Beta Alpha Omega — Matthew Catrambone and Samuel Terry — with one misdemeanor each of providing alcohol to persons under 21. They also charged Alpha Phi as a corporation with a misdemeanor count of facilitating an underage alcohol house.
Both the fraternity and sorority were suspended in the wake of the incident, according to a statement from the university that said the suspension remains in force until a school investigation is complete, WMUR reported.
The station also reported that Hanover Police Chief Charles Dennis said that hazing does not appear to have been a factor in the incident.
