Charges Dropped For 5 Of 11 Indicted In Adam Oakes Hazing Death

RICHMOND, VA — Five of 11 people indicted in the hazing death of Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University freshman and Delta Chi pledge who died from alcohol poisoning after attending a fraternity party in 2021, are no longer facing charges in connection with the Loudoun County native's death.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Riley McDaniel, Robert Fritz, Alexander Bradley, Alessandro Medina-Villanueva, and Quinn Kuby, according to a report by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. All had been charged with misdemeanor hazing.

Fritz, Bradley, and Kuby also were charged with misdemeanor serving alcohol to a minor, the Times-Dispatch reported. Prosecutors did not say why the charges were dropped.

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Last year, prosecutors charged 11 members of Delta Chi with hazing and seven were charged with serving alcohol to a minor. VCU suspended the students, a defense attorney told The Associated Press, and the university permanently removed the fraternity from campus.

In February 2021, 19-year-old Oakes was invited to join the Delta Chi fraternity. The party he attended was meant to be a "Big-Little" reveal party, where Oakes would meet his mentor within the fraternity.

Oakes was told to drink a large bottle of whiskey and later passed out on a couch at an off-campus residence, his family told The Associated Press. He was found dead the following day.

According to the medical examiner's office, Oakes's death was caused by ethanol toxicity. Arkuie Williams of the medical examiner's office also noted that the death was ruled an accident.

Ethanol toxicity, sometimes referred to as alcohol poisoning, can be caused by binge drinking, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The decision came just days after the Love Like Adam Foundation, started by Oakes's family, held its first hazing prevention presentation to students and parents at the University of Lynchburg. Three former Delta Chi members who pleaded guilty to their roles in Oakes' death spoke during the event, according to NBC 12.

Following the decision, Oakes's cousin, Courtney White, invited the five former defendants to participate in the foundation's work.

"Just because your charges are dropped doesn't mean you're innocent," White said. "It doesn't mean they couldn't call 911 or help."