BATON ROUGE, Lou. – Matthew Naquin has been found guilty of negligent homicide in the 2017 hazing death of Louisiana State University student Maxwell Gruver.
Naquin, of Fair Oaks Ranch, was arrested on hazing charges along with nine other members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity for making pleges drink alcohol while playing a game called "Bible Study," according to an affidavit.
On Sept. 13, 2017, fraternity pledge members were asked questions about the fraternity during "Bible Study" and if they got the answer wrong they were required to drink, according to investigators.
Naquin forced pledge members to take “pulls” of 190-proof Diesel -- a "pull," according to the affidavit, is consuming the alcohol for three to five seconds.
Gruver's blood alcohol level was more than six times the legal driving limit when he died in 2017. His cause of death was listed as acute ethanol intoxication with aspiration.
News outlets earlier quoted a toxicologist as testifying that Gruver, of Roswell, Georgia, was a "dead man walking,", according to The Associated Press.
"All pledges interviewed and some active members stated that Naquin was the most aggressive by far during the hazing event,” the affidavit said.
Naquin faces a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Affidavit: Fair Oaks Ranch teen ‘most aggressive' in alleged LSU pledge member's hazing death