Northern Arizona University said the death of 18-year-old Colin Daniel Martinez “shaken our entire community” and that the fraternity member at the center of the case, Carter Eslick, is no longer enrolled at the Flagstaff school. On Friday, prosecutors indicted Eslick, the pledge master for a fraternity at NAU, on a felony hazing charge tied to Martinez’s death after a night of drinking at a rush event, according to court documents and university statements.
The hazing charge alleges that Eslick caused or forced the drinking that led to Martinez’s death on Jan. 31 at an off-campus house, the Associated Press reported. Martinez was found unresponsive at the residence by police after bystanders performed CPR, and he died at the scene, according to the reporting. Prosecutors also said the indictment was based on evidence including a medical finding and accounts from people who witnessed the drinking and what they did afterward.
An autopsy found Martinez died of alcohol poisoning and recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.425%, according to the court-related description in the case reporting. That level was described as more than five times the legal limit for drivers 21 and older, and the reporting said the state has a zero-tolerance policy for anyone under 21 who is driving under the influence of alcohol.
In the days after the death, the case moved through both campus and criminal channels. After Martinez died, the university suspended the fraternity, and the national organization later voted to shut down the NAU chapter. Two other Delta Tau Delta fraternity members were arrested after Martinez’s death, but the charge filed Friday was only against Eslick, according to the report.
Court documents described Martinez as one of four people who were candidates for the fraternity and said he shared two bottles of vodka to ensure he vomited. The documents also described some witnesses saying the bottles might have been diluted with water. Witness accounts in the documents reportedly included readjusting Martinez’s sleeping position, checking his pulse and breathing, and repeatedly looking for symptoms of alcohol poisoning throughout the night.
Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said in a statement, “The loss of a young person is always a tragedy,” according to the reporting. Eslick’s attorney, Josh Blumenrich, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment, the report said. Prosecutors also declined to say whether they will ask a grand jury to bring charges against the two other fraternity members arrested after Martinez’s death.