BOWLING GREEN — A Sylvania man facing felony and misdemeanor charges in a hazing-related death of a new Bowling Green State University fraternity member pleaded not guilty Friday to all charges.
With his parents watching from the gallery, Benjamin Boyers, 22, stood with attorney Kurt Bruderly before Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman for arraignment on charges filed last month in connection to the death of Stone Foltz, a 20-year-old BGSU sophomore from Delaware, Ohio, who died from acute alcohol poisoning after a March 4 hazing event associated with the university’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity chapter.
Mr. Boyers is charged with one count each of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies, as well as eight counts of hazing and seven counts of failure to comply with underage-alcohol laws, all misdemeanors. If convicted, Mr. Boyers could face up to six years in prison.
During the afternoon hearing, Mr. Bruderly requested the court allow Mr. Boyers to remain free without having to pay bail throughout the court proceedings and be granted permission to travel to and from Michigan for school and work.
“Ben and I knew that this day would more than likely come. He was able to secure an internship in South Dakota over the summer, return here to face those charges, and now that he has retained counsel, we are doing that,” Mr. Bruderly said.
Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson didn’t object, but did add conditions that Mr. Boyers have no contact with others who likewise face charges in Mr. Foltz’s death nor with Mr. Foltz’s family; drink no alcohol and submit to use of continuous alcohol-monitoring bracelets; not use social media to post photos or videos, and stay off the BGSU campus.
Judge Kuhlman granted both attorneys’ requests and a pre-trial hearing was set for 11 a.m. Oct. 22.
Afterward, Mr. Bruderly escorted Mr. Boyers — along with his family — to the courthouse’s booking department. He told a small group of reporters outside the courtroom he had no further comments, but may comment further as the court case progresses.
Mr. Dobson likewise exited to speak to Mr. Foltz’s relatives after the hearing and wasn’t available to comment.
According to an official investigation into the hazing death, Mr. Foltz died in early March after participating in a BGSU Pi Kappa Alpha tradition in which fraternity pledges were expected to swallow a full bottle of liquor as part of their initiation.
It was during this event that Mr. Foltz drank a 750-millileter bottle of Evan Williams bourbon, known as a “family bottle,” in a reported 20 minutes, accidentally causing his own death, according to an investigative report prepared for BSGU by David DeVillers, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio now of the firm of Barnes & Thornburg.
Mr. Foltz was taken to the Wood County Hospital and then ProMedica Toledo Hospital, where he was placed on life support and died two days later. The coroner declared fatal ethanol intoxication to be the cause of death and identified his blood-alcohol content as 0.35 percent.
BGSU officials in July announced three students had been expelled and 18 suspended in relation to the incident, but released no names.
Mr. Boyers is the latest person to be criminally charged in connection to Mr. Folz’s death. Also charged are Jacob Krinn, 20, of Delaware, Ohio; Troy Henricksen, 23, of Grove City, Ohio; Daylen Dunson, 20, of Cleveland; Canyon Caldwell, 21, of Dublin, Ohio; Niall Sweeney, 21, of Erie, Pa.; Jarrett Prizel, 19, of Olean, N.Y., and Aaron Lehane, 21, of Loveland, Ohio.
All except Mr. Lehane were enrolled at BGSU as students at the time of Mr. Foltz’s death.
First Published September 10, 2021, 9:29 p.m.
