One College Tradition Went Horribly Too Far

A former Northern Arizona University fraternity leader has pleaded guilty to hazing in a student’s alcohol-poisoning death, putting campus hazing back under a harsh spotlight.

Quick Take

Carter T. Eslick pleaded guilty to one felony count of hazing in the death of Colin D. Martinez.
Prosecutors said Eslick caused Martinez to take part in a drinking game during fraternity initiation.
Reports say Martinez died from acute ethanol toxicity after a rush event tied to Delta Tau Delta.
The fraternity’s national leadership closed the Northern Arizona University chapter after the death.

Guilty Plea Ends One Chapter of the Case

Carter T. Eslick pleaded guilty Monday to a felony hazing charge in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff. The plea was tied to the January death of 18-year-old Northern Arizona University student Colin D. Martinez. According to reporting, Eslick had first pleaded not guilty in April but changed course under an agreement that kept prison off the table and limited the sentence to probation.

The plea matters because it confirms this was not being treated as a campus rumor or a simple social mistake. Court-linked reporting says prosecutors alleged Eslick caused Martinez to join a drinking game as part of fraternity initiation. Other reports say Eslick bought the alcohol and helped organize the game. That puts the case squarely in the category many parents and students dread most: a hazing ritual that ended in a death.

Alcohol, Initiation, and a Death on Campus

Investigators said Martinez was found unresponsive on January 31 at an off-campus residence tied to the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Reporting says he had attended an invite-only rush event the night before. One account says pledges were brought to the party with pillowcases over their heads and told to play a drinking game. Another says they were given vodka and told to finish it together. Those details fit the hazing pattern seen in other deadly fraternity cases.

Medical findings also matched alcohol poisoning. Reporting says Martinez’s blood-alcohol level was 0.425 percent, far above any safe level, and his cause of death was listed as acute ethanol toxicity. That is the kind of hard fact that cuts through spin. It shows why these cases are so dangerous when peer pressure and group loyalty replace common sense, adult judgment, and immediate help. When a young man is pushed to drink beyond reason, the result can be fatal fast.

University and Fraternity Responses Raised the Stakes

Northern Arizona University said a grand jury returned a felony indictment in connection with the alcohol-related death. The university also said the indicted individual was no longer enrolled. Delta Tau Delta’s national leadership later closed the NAU chapter. That move does not decide guilt in a criminal sense, but it does show the fraternity recognized the seriousness of what happened. For families, that response will likely feel coldly familiar: consequences come after tragedy, not before it.

The broader lesson is plain. Hazing cases often turn on secrecy, drink pressure, and leaders who think they can control the outcome. Here, the public record already shows a guilty plea, an alcohol-poisoning death, and a chapter shut down after the incident. One important caution remains: the materials provided do not include the full plea transcript or written factual basis, so the exact scope of Eslick’s admissions is not fully visible here. Still, the core facts are clear enough to alarm any parent.