piazza then falling down a staircase. documents show one brother texting, "he fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs, hair-first, going to need help." >> they didn't call for help. >> reporter: prosecutors say there was no call for help for close to 12 hours. surveillance footage from that night shows piazza visibly bruised, as frat members try unsuccessfully to revive him. rubbing his chest, pouring liquid on his face. when one brother urges them to get help, he is allegedly overruled and shoved into a wall. the next morning, documents say, one brother describes piazza, "on the verge of death." >> and when they finally did call for help they did not tell anyone that he had fallen. when he arrived at the hospital it was too late. >> reporter: prosecutors say their worry that morning, that police would discover evidence of hazing and alcohol. cleaning up, deleting messages and coordinating their story. one brother allegedly texting, "tell them what i told you guys, found him the next morning around 10:00 a.m. and he was free

the death of timothy piazza.rgest u.s.s hazing cases in history. >> this did not have to happen. >> reporter: 18 penn state university students charged in the death of timothy piazza. a 19-year-old sophomore who died after a hazing ritual in february. the students and the university's beta theta pi chapter facing charges. involuntary manslaughter and assault and tampering with evidence. prosecutors say footage in the fraternity capturing the final moments of piazza's life. the cause of death traumatic brain injury. the result of repeat ed falls. including one down 15 feet of basement stairs after being forced to drink excessively. in a group text message sent before midnight, one brother writing, tim piazza may be a problem. he fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs. hair first. going to need help. the documents reveal the fraternity brothers put a weighted backpack on him to keep him from suffocating on his vomit. the video shows his body unresponsive as brothers throw liquid on his face to revive him. at this poi

piazza, a freshman allied at the beta pheta arrived.hey were instructed to down alcohol in a short >> the details are shocking. >> reporter: tom kline represents the piazza family. >> there is a total disregard for another human being. >> reporter: he fell down a staircase. for beta brothers carried him up. video shows at least one frat brother visibly agitated, pointing to his head and then piazza. he testified he told his beta brothers to call 911 but they refused. by 10:00 a.m. the next among, two of his frat brothers found him. they say piazza had blood on his face, he felt cold to the touch, his skin appeared pale and his eyes half open. his beta brothers called 911, 42 minutes later. this video is what sets this case apart from many other hazing scandals. scott, we told by the attorney today that the video might actually help some of the frat the most egregious crime of aggravated assault, that carries up to 20 years in prison. >> jericka duncan tonight, thank you. >>> coming up next, evacuat ions are ordered in a wildfire on the

thomas kline, attorney for piazza's family: "the forced drinking...his wasn't a young man who went and just consumed alcohol. he was in a forced hazing ritual."piazza died two days after a party at the beta theta pi fraternity house at penn state.according to prosecutors, he died from a traumatic brain injury -- the result of several falls, including one down a flight of basement stairs.the investigative report describes one man urging piazza's frat brothers to call 9-1-1 and get him to the hospital -- in response, he is shoved and told "they had it under control."the call to 9-1-1 wasn't made until the next morning.the university's president called the series of events "sickening and difficult to understand."beta theta pi has been banned from operating a chapter at penn state.stacy parks miller, centre county district attorney: "it's just.... it's heartbreaking all around. there's no winners. we don't win even by charging these young men, because the only win is for him to be alive." i'm andrew spencer, reporting (jrstone) eighteen members of the bet

you're now an exclusive interview, tom klein the attorney for the piazza family. tonight. >> thank you, martha. >> martha: is a such a tough story and your heart breaks for his parents, every parent who has kids in college worries about these things. everyone is aware i think across his country of the kind of culture that exists on our college campuses when it comes to drinking and looking the other way. but one of the defense attorneys for these 18 students said on friday morning quote of course is a tragedy, but that doesn't there's any intent involved in any of this. your thoughts on that? >> this is every parents nightmare, and unfortunately it happened brutally to the piazza family who grieved for their so son. it is ridiculous to say that there was no intent read there is intent written all over this starting with the force to drinking this young man, timothy piazza, marching him into a basement with other pledges, force-feeding him alcohol until he was alcohol poisoned, watching him fall down the stairs, rendering no aid, and then taking every step imaginab

jim piazza:"this did not have to happen.ty students áchargedá in the death of timothy piazza -- a 19-year-old sophomore who died after a hazing ritual in february.the students -- and the university's beta theta pi chapter -- facing charges including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and tampering with evidenceprosecutors say surveillance footage áinsideá the fraternity capturing the final moments of piazza's life. the cause of death according to court documents -- traumatic brain injury -- the result of repeated falls, including one down á15 feetá of basement stairs after being forced to drink excessively. in a group text message sent just before midnight -- one brother writinggraphic: "tim piazza might actually be a problem. he fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs, hair-first, going to need help." the documents reveal the frat brothers put a weighted backpack on piazza to keep him from suffocating on his own vomitthe video shows his limp body unresponsive as brothers throw liquid on his face in an effort to reviv

their beloved 19-year-old son tim piazza died after an alcohol-fueled night of hazing at a fraternity house in penn state university. for nearly 12 hours the frat brothers allegedly let tim suffer without calling for any help. and now his family is on a mission. >> he was all covered up with warming blankets. we were trying to find a spot of skin to touch. >> reporter: the heartbreaking final moments between a mother and her child. evelyn piazza grappling with the senseless alcohol-related death of her son tim after he was allegedly left dying for hours at a pledge event in a penn state university fraternity house. >> the nurse brought me forward and told me to kiss him good-bye. it was hard. and that's what you think of when you close your eyes. >> it looked like he got hit by a car. he was in bad shape. he was on full life support. his eyes were half open. he wasn't there. >> reporter: piazza's death has once again raised serious questions across the country about the dangers of hazing in the greek system. tim's older brother mike is also a student at penn state. >> were you specifi

the injured piazza trying to get up but again. four men seen dragging his limp body upstairs, prosecutors allege piazza's frat brothers tried to coordinate a story before finally calling 911 nearly 12 hours later but one student who isn't charged in piazza's death says he tried to help. >> i got told that i needed to leave the room. >> reporter: gio benitez, abc news, state college, pennsylvania. >> we will have more on that coming up on "good morning america." >>> officials in upstate new york meanwhile, are trying to n untangle the mystery involving the sudden death of 37 kwoorld steven holcomb died in his sleep. an autopsy found fluid in his lungs but preliminary toxicology reports didn't show any drugs in his system and the coroner says no indication of foul play. >> quite a story of survival in utah. a man out for a ride in his atv ended up 90 feet down in an old mineshaft. he was camping with family and went for that nighttime ride. mine stuck there for several hours. nearly 100 search and rescue team members worked to get t

piazza died several days later in the hospital. tonight 18 fraternity brothers from beta theta pi and the fraternity itself are facing criminal charges, among them involuntary manslaughter and furnishing alcohol to minors. piazza's parents are heartbroken and angry. >> i've said this before. this didn't have to happen. this is a result of feeling of entitlement, flagrant diagnose obedience of the law and disregard for moral values. >> reporter: beta theta pi has disbanded the chapter and says it does not tolerate hazing or alcohol abuse in any form by its members. penn state has now put other fraternities on notice, banning all social activities with alcohol for the rest of the semester and instituting new rules to prevent underaged drinking. in a statement, the university president called the charges heart-wrenching and incomprehensible. tonight nine fraternity members will be arraigned while the university warns that all greek life on campus could soon come to an end. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >>> turning overseas where

joined by tim's parents evelyn and jim piazza and older brother mike.the start this story has hit so many of us so hard because it seems so senseless. we are just sorry, all of our condolences and prayers and i see you're wearing that wristband, tim's friends had made, live like tim. never stop laughing. is that how you remember him? >> absolutely, yeah. it's who he was. always laughing, always smiling, just the nicest guy. >> what do you want people to know about your son? >> oh, he was great. he was an amazing guy. he was so funny, smart, the first one to be there for somebody, he was everybody's friend. best friend. >> and, jim, i know it's hard to come out on a day like this but talk about the action you're taking right now. your attorneys talked about filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity, the university, the members. who bears the most responsibility. >> i think the individuals involved clearly bear the most responsibility. if you read the time line of what happened, they set out to feed these guys lethal amounts of alcohol from t

piazza's blood alcohol was between .25 and .36, nearly five times the legal limit to drive., tim piazza fell down a 15-foot flight of stairs and lay face down at the bottom. surveillance video shows him being carried back upstairs and onto a couch by four fraternity brothers. his body appeared to limp, his eyes closed. minutes later, cordell davis, a newly initiated fraternity member said piazza started thrashing. he said he screamed that his friend needed to go to the hospital but instead, davis told good morning america he was confronted listen. >> was like shut up, got thrown against the wall. i didn't know what to do after that. i felt useless. i felt like i had no say in the situation. >> video then shows piazza being slapped in the face and having liquid thrown in his face. he failed to respond. an hour later, piazza vomited and three separate times, he tried to get up but each time fell back onto his head. video also shows a number of his fellow brothers stepping over him. it wasn't until 1048 the next morning the police were called in the fraternity brothers did not

surveillance cameras captured much of what happened after the fall -- including piazza's skin turning gray by morning. prosecutors also claim students tried to make him appear healthier at that point by dressing him in clean clothes. the fraternity members are scheduled to face a judge again next week. a startling discovery on the university of mississippi campus.. crews assessing the area for a new parking garage found 66 new burial sites. the mississippi asylum for the insane was located on what's now the campus.. from 1855 to 1935. and patients were buried there. new research indicates, there could actually be seven-thousand bodies beneath the soil! university officials now want to bu those patients' legacies. they also want to make the remants of the bodies available for research. at xx time for weather. toss to eileen - warmest day this week (low 70s) - cloudy & cooler late week w/ shower chances - drier & warmer for mother's day - 80s return next week! today: mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon. seasonable. highs: 70-75 winds: n 5 mph tonight: mostly cloudy. lows:

. >> reporter: tonight, the final hours of penn state university student timothy piazza's life, revealedy a frat brother who was there. >> i was screaming at the top of my lungs. >> reporter: in february, freshman kordel davis says he found piazza on a couch with bruises, eyes closed. >> i was like, "tim needs help right now. we need to call 911 right now." >> reporter: documents say piazza fell head first down a flight of stairs after prosecutors he was forced to binge drink. according to prosecutors, surveillance cameras show brothers carrying piazza to a couch and arguing over his condition. >> they said, "no, you're overreacting." and i said, "no, i really do know what i'm talking about, he could have a concussion." >> reporter: davis was repeatedly ignored, according to investigators. one brother even getting violent. >> he backed me up against the wall, grabbed me, threw me against the wall and held me there. >> reporter: another brother allegedly telling davis other frat members were kinesiology and biology majors, so davis' word meant nothing to him. >> it seemed like they just w

. >>> now new details this that death of timothy piazza.a fraternity hazing and 18 students facing charges and timothy's family is here to share their story after gio benitez brings us the latest. >> reporter: the frat brothers charged will face a judge during a preliminary hearing and this morning we're learning those students and penn state itself may also face a lawsuit. as 18 members of the beta theta pi fraternity now await their fate, the parents of the 19-year-old sophomore who died during an alcohol-fueled hazing ritual are now setting their sights on the university. >> this was occurring right underneath the noses of penn state officials. >> reporter: the attorney for tim piazza's family telling a wrongful death lawsuit against all of those responsible for the death of tim including the fraternity member, the fraternity as well as penn state. piazza falling head first down the frat house stairs this past february. a pledge party allegedly turning into a night of forced heavy drinking. the frat brothers waiting nearly 12 hours befor

. >> reporter: tim piazza, a sophomore engineering student at penn state was clinging to life when araternity brother called 911. >> he hasn't moved. i need an ambulance. >> reporter: 12 hours before, piazza stumbled down the stairs after running the gauntlet, a ritual of heavy drinking. he would not survive his injuries, but prosecutors laid out a time line of missed opportunities. 10:46 a fraternity brother sees him face down and texts piazza may be a problem. he fell 15 feet down a flight of stairs. hair first, going to need help. according to prosecutors, kordel davis, who is not being charged with a crime, told fellow frat brothers to call 911, but no one did. late the next morning fraternity brothers found him cold to the touch. 40 minutes later one of them called 911 and never mentioned the fall. >> was there any alcohol involved do you know? >> yes. >> reporter: prosecutors said some fraternity brothers tried to cover their tracks. 18 students are facing criminal charges. some accused of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. as for penn state efforts on campus to c

piazza died at the hospital of traumatic brain injury.eatening amount of alcohol. >>> new round of severe storms is building in the west. triggering tornado warnings overnight in new mexico. look at the radar. you can see those storms that dumped hail and snow over southern california, now moving into the central u.s. severe thunderstorm watch issued for the colorado plains, with the threat of very large hail, damaging winds, and even tornados. >>> this was the scene in denver. coors field. forcing rockies to postpone last night's game with the chicago cubs. they will split a double-header. cubs are thankful. they had a long night. >> exactly. played until 2:00 a.m. and had to fly to denver. there were other folks that probably needed a break from the diamond. there wasn't any hail. minor league baseball game. sign of end of days. >> yeah, a snake spotted on the field in sacramento. appropriately enough, this all happened during a game involving the arizona diamondbacks. >> thank you for the close-up. >> in this case, garden snake. no big

the injured piazza trying to get up but falling over and over again.limp body upstairs. others trying to rouse him by slapping his face and pouring water over him. the brothers finally alerting 911 about the now unconscious piazza nearly 12 hours later after he fell down the stairs again. >> and when they finally did call for help, they did not tell anyone that he had fallen. and when timothy arrived at the hospital it was too late. it was too late. >> reporter: piazza dying the next day from traumatic brain injury. his blood alcohol level 0.40. five times the legal limit. prosecutors allege his frat brothers were trying to cover up their drinking and coordinate a story. >> of course, it's a tragedy, but, you know, that doesn't mean there was any intent involved in any of this. >> reporter: investigators say only one student, kordel davis who isn't charged, tried to help but was literally pushed aside. >> i got pushed into a wall. i got told that i needed to leave the room, that my help wasn't necessary. i was told it was going to be handled their way.

. >> new released 911 calls, providing details of timothy piazza's final hours. >> a fraternity brother charged in his death is talking out about how he was stopped from making a call for help. >> reporter: 18 fraternity brothers face charges in connect, with the hazing death of a pledge. another brother not charged is him. kind of pointing and laughing. and said why is tim on the was he breathing?r the fall. >> he is breathing. >> was there any alcohol or anything involved? >> yes, there is. >> all right, we'll get some body over there. if anything changes call back and let us know. >> it was too late. >> kordell davis says he saw tim piazza after he had fallen down a staircase after a hazing ritual of extreme drinking. >> people are saying he need to sleep it off. people were saying, not that big of a deal. vis checking his pulse.rying >> i said we should call 911, am screaming.mbulance. got thrown against the wall. i di that. i felt kind of useless. and i felt like i had, no say in the situation. after that. >> you didn't feel look you could leave? and call some where else? go outsid

the parents of timothy piazza say their son was tortured and left to die a slow, painful death. prosecutors say piazza fell down a flight of stairs after drinking heavy amounts of alcohol as part of a hazing ritual. help wasn't called for nearly 12 hours. 18 fraternity members face charges. piazza's parents have advice about joining a fraternity or sorority. >> if anybody tries to make you do something that's illegal, don't do it. >> walk away. >> walk away. you don't want to be brothers with those guys. >> they permanently banned beta theta pi in march accusing it of a persistent pattern of excessive drinking, drug use and hazing. >>> you might think miss usa is just a beauty pageant but not only is this year's winner gorgeous, she could kick your butt on a science quiz and she's from here. >> miss usa 2017 is district of columbia >> kara mccullough took the crown last night in las vegas. mccullough is a chemist working for the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission. she will go on to compete in the miss universe contest, and she's footsteps of last year's miss d. c. deshauna barbe

kordel, we're thinking of tim piazza's family this morning.del, we're thinking of tim piazza's family this morning. we'll be right back. getting a f. kordel, we're thinking of tim piazza's family this morning. 'll be right back. where, for the first time ever, everything is 30% off. like bolo bracelets for layering. her soon-to-be-favorite new earrings. and a stack of rings for her to mix and match. 30% off everything, may 4th-14th, only at kay. the number-one jewelry store... ...for mom. every kiss begins with kay. herhas performed over tentch thousand stain evaluations. to prove persil delivers a premium clean. we've made a new stain with wasabi and goji berries. make that ten thousand...and one. persil proclean. i was in the military for 18 years.rian, but, i smoked and i got heart disease. my tip is; it's hard to serve your country when you're to weak to put on your uniform. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. to ensure the ice cold coke nice and wide hits your taste buds all at once. except f

that call came 12 hours after piazza's fall down the stairs. the dispatcher was told piazza was unconscious but not that he had fallen. >> we're learning new details about a viral video showing a teenage boy violently body-slamming a woman. it happened at a pool party in north lauderdale, florida. when she asked partygoers to lower the noise, nancy james was grabbed, slammed to the ground and then dragged and tossed into that pool. she ended up in the emergency room with bruises. the teen, a 16-year-old, has been charged with battery. >>> we're getting a look at another piece of video out of florida. this courier employed by amazon was caught on camera, see when she does as she arrives with the packages at the customer's fence. packages go right over. amazon responded in a statement saying the woman has been identified for, quote, future training purposes. the boxes, by the way, contained her defense so it wasly there. >> it's bicycle helmets so maybe she was testing them to make sure they were durable. >>> when we come back we'll hear from the

timothy piazza arrived at the frat house on february 2nd.and others took part in an alcohol obstacle course where they consumed for you to five alcohol beverages within a two minute time span. an hour later report says timothy piazza fell down a flight of stairs. surveillance video inside the frat house apparentlyho carried up by for you beta brothers. his body appears limp. his eyes closed. his demeanor unconscious. timothy piazza falls several more times throughout the night hitting his head in some instances. while on the flow frat brothers step over his body. by 10:00 a.m. next morning two frat brothers find timothy piazza on the basement floor. they say he was cold to the touch and his skin appeared pale. no one called 911 until 42 minutes later. >> we have a friend who is unconscious. >> how old is he? >> he's 19. 19 years old. >> reporter: the next day timothy piazza was dead. his father called this a preventable and senseless tragedy. >> again, this did not have to happen. no parent should have to deal with this. >> reporter: a grand

i need an ambulance. >> reporter: piazza stumbled down basement stairs after running the gauntlet. a al drinking for new pledges. he would not survive the injuries. 10:46, a fraternity brother is seized him and texted, piazza they be a problem. he fell 15 feet down the flight of stairs. going to need help. kordel davis who is not being charged with a crime told fellow frat brothers to call 911. but no one did. late the next morning, fraternity brothers found him cold to the touch. 40 minutes later, one of them called 911 and never mentioned the fall. >> any alcohol involved do you know? >> yes, there is. >> reporter: prosecutors say some tried to cover their tracks. 18 students are facing criminal charges. some accused of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. >> there has to be a form of intent. we think that is not present in this case. >> reporter: as for penn state, officials point out efforts on campus to curb drinking while emphasizing [000:07:59;00] independence. >> i don't think we have any culpability whatsoever because we don't own the property. we don't supervi

tim piazza might actually be a problem.ll 15 feet down a flight of stairs, hair-first, going to need help. but nothing happens. brothers say they saw piazza vomit and twitch at 1:00. between 3:00 and 5:00 in the morning, piazza tries to get up but falls three more times. the last time into an iron railing and into a door. by 5:15 a.m., he has been repeatedly ignored and twice stepped over. at 6:57, a groaning piazza is filmed. the video later posted on snapchat. at 7:18, piazza stands for a final time and staggers towards the basement. at 10:00 a.m., piazza is found there. he is described as cold to the touch and pale. his eyes half-open. for 42 minutes, brothers try to shake him awake and try to dress him. one brother googles phrases like, cold extremities in a drunk person. at 10:48 a.m., 12 hours after piazza first fell, 911 is called. >> we have a friend who is unconscious. >> reporter: for "today," stephanie gosk, nbc news, state college, pennsylvania. >>> let's get more on this with eric barron. he is president of pen

probably going to need an ambulance. >> one member calling 911, 12 hours after piazza reportedly fellt done a staircase intoxicated following heavy drinking in an alleged hazing ritual. >> how old is he? >> 19 years old. >> and was he breathing? >> he was breathing. >> an alcohol or anything involved do you know? >> yes there is. >> reporter: the prosecutor telling us high definition cameras captured piazza suffering in agonizing detail for hours. the fraternity brothers tried to revive him but refused to call for help after he fell over and over again. they will face a judge next week. gio benitez, abc news, pennsylvania. >> such a tough case. prosecutors say that his skin turned gray before they called 911. >> able to notice because of the surveillance cameras so intricate. >> nugget. >> a teen rolled up to her prom in style, kind of. "the mix" is next. >> kind uh morbid. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you ma