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Two men have been charged in connection with an alleged hate incident at the University of Missouri-Columbia that left 19-year-old freshman Daniel Santuli blind and unable to speak or walk alone.
The Boone County, Missouri Grand Jury on Friday indicted Ryan Patrick Delanty of Bowlin and Thomas Andrew Schultz of Chesterfield on charges of premeditated crime as well as crimes of supplying alcohol to a minor or intoxicated person. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Delanti is about 20 years old, while Schultz is 21, according to the newspaper.
Santuli of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, outside of Minneapolis, cared for her parents, Thomas and Mary Pat, who sued the fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, the homeowner and 23 members. All but two members have settled the civil case out of court, the Post-Dispatch reported.
MISSURI BETS FRAT LOSES ABILITY TO SEE, WALK, SPEAK AFTER AN ANNOUNCED INCIDENT WITH ACTION, LAWYER SAYS
Schultz is also facing the crime of falsifying physical evidence in a criminal prosecution, reports Columbia Missourian.
Daniel Santuli suffered “massive brain damage” after a hate incident in October 2021 (Photo courtesy of Tom Santuli)
“This is the most serious injury to the hate fraternity that has ever occurred in the United States,” Santuli family lawyer David Bianchi told the newspaper. “We have been doing these things for 30 years. I know the landscape of hatred. I know the lawyers who defend the fraternities. And everyone agrees that this is the worst thing of all time. “
The lawsuit alleges that on the night of October 19, 2021, Santuli showed up at the fraternity’s house for the so-called “Father’s Promise Revelation Night” after spending weeks without sleep and stressed by the speedy process. in which he was “repeatedly” ordered to clean the brothers’ rooms and bring them food, alcohol and marijuana at any time of the night. “He was also instructed to climb into a trash can with broken glass inside, leaving it with poor cutting of the leg, which requires stitches and leaves him to use crutches.
As president of the Brotherhood, Schultz took alcohol for the night, the case said. Delanti, called Santuli’s father, handed him a bottle of family-sized vodka and ordered him to finish it.
Daniel Santuli is seen in a family photo without a date before the hate incident. (Photo courtesy of Tom Santuli)
Another brother in the fraternity, Alec Wetzler of St. Louis, poured beer through a funnel into Santuli’s mouth.
Santuli was left on a couch with a blood alcohol level of .468, and the case said another member witnessed the deteriorating condition but did nothing. Santuli slid off the couch and his face fell to the floor, pale skin and blue lips. Eventually, members took him to a hospital, where medical staff noted that he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped. It was revived and placed on a ventilation device.
Days later, he was removed from the ventilator and could breathe on his own, “but he did not react, was unaware of his surroundings, could not communicate and had a significant brain injury,” according to the trial. His condition remained the same nine months later.
Columbia, Missouri, USA at the University of Missouri. (iStock)
The trial said that two days before the hate incident, Santuli had burst into tears on his sister’s phone over the stress of the fraternity initiation process and his family had asked him to stop making promises.
“But Danny is not giving up,” the case said, “and with so many promises before him, he did not want to be humiliated and ridiculed by those in whose ranks he was trying to join. The defendants knew this and had seen it all before. “
Earlier this month, Wetzler was charged with the crime of supplying alcohol to a minor and possession of alcohol by a minor in connection with last autumn’s incident. Bianchi said on Friday that he hoped the Boone County Attorney would file more criminal charges in addition to those for Schultz and Delanti.
The university said in a press release in May that the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity had been removed from campus and 13 students had been punished, but did not say how.
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“The safety of the Mizzou community is our highest priority and we need to tackle alcohol and other issues in a holistic way to provide education and services that work together to maintain safer behavior and an overall culture.” said Moon Choi, president of the University of Missouri. in a statement at the time. “In our conversations with student leaders, they are 100 percent with us to make our campus even safer for everyone, but there is a long way to go.”
Daniel Wallace is a Fox News Digital reporter covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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