Beta Theta Pi Fraternity Preliminary Hearing

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Written By Justin Merriman

A member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity arrives for the preliminary hearing at the Centre County courthouse on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Today's hearing will determine whether the 18 brothers, as well as their fraternity, should stand trial for the death of Timothy Piazza.

Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, the 19-year-old pledge who died following a Feb. 2 event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, leave the Centre County courthouse following a preliminary hearing on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Luke Visser, a member of the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, leaves the Centre County courthouse following a preliminary hearing on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Visser faces 56 counts: involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor, and consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, the 19-year-old pledge who died following a Feb. 2 event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, wait to enter the Centre County courthouse prior to a preliminary hearing on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Piazza family attorney Tom Kline speaks with members of the media outside of the Centre County courthouse at the conclusion of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Brendan Young, president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives back at the Centre County courthouse for the continuation of the preliminary hearing in the death of Timothy Piazza, 19, who died following a Feb. 2 pledge event at the frat house at Penn State University, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. 

Young faces 200 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, tampering with evidence, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, and unlawful acts relative to liquor.

As the preliminary hearing for the death of Tim Piazza continues, fog sits over Bellefonte, Pa., on Friday, Aug., 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Leonard Ambrose, the attorney for Joe Sala, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives at the Centre County courthouse for a continuation of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Aug. 30, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Sala faces 55 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor.

Members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity walk to the Centre County courthouse after a break in the 7th day of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Aug. 31, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Luke Visser, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives at the Centre County courthouse for verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Visser faces 56 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor, and consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Brendan Young, president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, stands in front of the Centre County courthouse after the verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa after a judge threw out the most serious charges for the fraternity members.

Tom Kline, the attorney for Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, 19, who died following a Feb. 2 pledge event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, speaks with media in front of the Centre County courthouse after the verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

On Feb. 4, Tim Piazza, a sophomore pledge at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State University died after a night of heaving drinking and hazing by fraternity members. After falling down a flight of stairs and suffering sustained multiple traumatic injuries from the fall, it would be 12 hours until his fraternity brothers would call for help. In pretrial hearings that lasted throughout the summer, it ended with the most serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault dropped; however, 14 of the Beta brothers will still face a total of 328 criminal charges.

Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.   

After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror.  He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe. 

He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. 

Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource. 

http://www.justinmerriman.com
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