Prosecutor: Rutgers Sophomore From South Brunswick Died Of Alcohol Poisoning

A 19-year-old Rutgers University sophomore from South Brunswick died from “acute ethanol toxicity,” and the manner of death was ruled accidental, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announced Monday.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause following the completion of toxicology tests that were performed after the Sept. 21 death, officials said.

Caitlyn P. Kovacs of the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick was pronounced dead at 3:19 a.m. at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

The investigation determined that Kovacs was taken to the hospital by friends at about 3 a.m. when she appeared to be in distress while attending a small gathering at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house at 78 College Avenue in New Brunswick.

Rutgers University President Robert Barchi said the university is “deeply saddened” by Kovacs’ death, adding that grief counseling was offered to students at the Student Activities Center and the College Avenue Student Center.

Barchi noted that Kovacs was a sophomore at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, majoring in animal sciences. Her passing “is a tragic loss to her family, her friends, and the entire Rutgers community,” he said.

The investigation is active and is continuing, officials said. Anyone with information is asked to call Lt. Paul Fischer of the Rutgers University Police Department at (848) 932-8025, Detective Ken Abode of the New Brunswick Police Department at (732) 745-5217, or Detective Jeffrey Temple of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3373.