Tonight, Dateline speaks to sixteen parents who say they lost their son to college hazing. The series of exclusive interviews will air at 7pm ET on NBC.
NBC’s Andrea Canning will speak to the parents of hazing victims, who will open about their son’s schools and the fraternities they were involved in. The reports will touch on schools like LSU, Texas Tech, Florida A&M, Rider University, and others. One interview with Kim and TJ Burch, who lost their son Nolan while he was pledging a fraternity in 2014 at West Virginia University, will include never before seen footage from inside the fraternity house, and detail the events that the Burch’s believe led to Nolan’s death.
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Preview
Nolan Burch, 18, died one day after being found unconscious at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house at West Virginia University. Authorities on the case later announced that Nolan had a .493 blood-alcohol level at the time of his death.
He and sixteen other pledges had been blindfolded and taken to a location where they were ordered to drink a bottle of liquor. In a 2015 article, NBC News wrote, “After becoming very intoxicated Burch was taken back to the Kappa Sigma house and laid on a table, police said. The police were called after a fraternity member noticed that Burch’s face had turned blue and he did not have a pulse.”
Nolan’s family filed a lawsuit in 2015. In January, a settlement was reached in the case. WVU subsequently issued a statement that read, “We believe bringing those tragic events to a resolution is best for all parties and allows Nolan’s parents to continue the good work they are doing through the foundation in his name.” Along with the university, Kappa Sigma fraternity, Richard Schwartz, Jordan Hankins, and the couple who owned the apartment where the party took place were named in the lawsuit.
Tonight’s ‘Dateline’ report will also interview Kordel Davis, a brother of Tim Piazza, who died at Penn State Univesity while pledging. Davis was in the house with Piazza the night he died. Not long after Piazza’s death, five members of Penn State’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity ere charged with involuntary manslaughter. A judge then dismissed the charges. The decision was appealed by prosecutors, but just last week, it was revealed that the judge wouldn’t reinstate the manslaughter charges.
According to a My Central Jersey, a spokesperson for Piazza’s parents said that the prosecution is “committed to seeking justice for Timothy Piazza and his family.”
Tonight’s interview with 16 parents dedicated to ending college hazing will air on NBC at 7pm ET/PT.