Recovered Basement Video Of Fatal PSU Frat Party Shown In Court

Never-before-seen video footage recovered from a Penn State fraternity house where a pledge died last year after allegedly being served a lethal amount of alcohol during a hazing ritual was played in court Monday during a preliminary hearing for the brothers facing charges in connection with the teen's death.

The footage, taken in the basement the night 19-year-old Timothy Piazza took a fatal fall at the Beta Theta Pi house, had been intentionally destroyed by a fraternity brother but was restored by the FBI, according to prosecutors.

The footage shows Piazza, a Hunterdon County, N.J. native, being served 18 drinks in 82 minutes at various drinking stations before taking a fatal fall down the basement stairs on Feb. 2, 2017. No one called for help until late the next morning, and Piazza died Feb. 4.

The new footage featured about two hours worth of clips without audio, according to PennLive.com. The footage reveals Piazza did not retrieve any of his own drinks upstairs or downstairs the night of the party, poking holes in the defense's assertion that Piazza was consuming the alcohol on his own accord.

RELATED: Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline

Piazza's parents, who were present at the hearing, left the courtroom when the footage began airing, WNEP reports. The footage showed Piazza being forced to drink while “lined up in a row like prisoners,” Tom Kline, an attorney for the Piazza family, told WNEP.

Eleven Penn State students are in court again this week for the preliminary hearing on charges in connection with the case, including involuntary manslaughter. Felony aggravated assault charges against the students were dropped when the Pennsylvania Attorney General took over the case from former Centre County Prosecutor Stacy Parks Miller.

Footage from the upstairs of the house the night of the party has already been accessed by law enforcement, and it was played in court during an excruciating preliminary hearing last summer, during which Piazza's parents also left the courtroom. That footage showed Piazza rolling in pain as brothers stepped over him, slapped him and poured water on him.

The most serious charges against the fraternity brothers had been dismissed after that five-day preliminary hearing. But in October, charges were re-filed against 11 Beta Theta Pi brothers.

RELATED

• Penn State Frat Party Victim's Family Shares Heartbreaking Details Of His Final Moments
• 'The Courtroom Is Silent': Reactions As Video Of Fatal Penn State Frat Party Is Played
• Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline
• 911 Audio From Penn State Frat House Death Released

Patch photo, Timothy Piazza