Frat Member Dies After Alleged ‘Inhumane And Cruel Hazing’ By WSU Fraternity

A freshman at Washington State University (WSU) was found dead in a dormitory room on Jan. 22 after he allegedly suffered “inhumane and cruel” fraternity hazing.

Police responded to Perham Hall on the Pullman, Washington, campus, where they discovered Luke Morgan Tyler, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, dead, the Spokesman-Review reported.

WSU Assistant Police Chief Dawn Daniels told the campus newspaper Daily Evergreen that investigators were awaiting the Whitman County coroner’s autopsy to identify the cause of death. But the police chief confirmed that there is no indication of foul play at this point.

An online petition organized by Tyler’s friends called for the fraternity to be investigated.

“His death directly followed a long and cruel pledging process allowed by his fraternity, Theta Chi. Their inhumane and cruel hazing forced Luke, and many others to do things nobody should ever be forced to do,” the petition alleged.

“We demand that Theta Chi be investigated, shut down and the fraternity’s president, as well as pledge masters and others with power in the fraternity, be investigated for their involvement with the death of Luke Tyler,” it continued.

Erin Lasher, assistant director for the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life, wrote in an email to the Greek community, “We know that in these circumstances, it’s hard to make sense of what has happened. All of us want to help, and we can feel lost on how to do so.”

WSU spokesman Phil Weiler said “there has been a significant amount of conjecture regarding the circumstances surrounding this incident and the actual cause of the student’s passing,” KREM reported.

“I would caution the public against speculation at this point in the investigation. The facts in this case are still being gathered. It could be several weeks before the coroner’s office determines the cause and manner of death. We want to ensure that the investigation can proceed unimpeded,” he added.

A GoFundMe campaign for Tyler’s family raised over $11,000 by Monday morning, the New York Post reported.

Tyler’s death happened about 10 miles away from where accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger — a former criminology graduate student at WSU — allegedly killed four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022, and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20.