Daphne Beletsis and Yvonne Rainey, the parents of the deceased University of California, Santa Cruz student Alex Beletsis, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Santa Cruz County, California, against Theta Chi National Fraternity, The UC-Santa Cruz Chapter, Chapter Members, and the housing corporation.  The suit sought to hold those accountable for engaging in the dangerous misconduct and hazing that resulted in Alex’s death.

We alleged that Alex, already a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, was being groomed for an officer position in the Spring of 2018.  To become an officer, Alex was required to participate in dangerous hazing that included the consumption of large amounts of alcohol.  At this “Crossover Ceremony,” Alex and others were provided multiple types of alcohol, including shots of vodka, and instructed to drink.  Alex became visibly and extremely inebriated.  The Chapter completed the Ceremony and directed Alex and others to attend the fraternity-wide celebration, a ritual hosted by the Chapter at the residence of the Chapter President.  There, Alex’s condition worsened, yet fraternity brothers continued to ply him with alcohol and then drugs.  Alex was visibly incoherent and mentally and physically unstable.  Fraternity members directed him to a second-floor bathroom to settle down his erratic behavior.  Alone and behind the closed door of the bathroom, Alex fell from the window – shattering his skull and sustaining severe brain and spinal cord injuries from landing on concrete below.  Alex remained in the hospital for 18 days (with his family by his side) before medical personnel advised the family that he would not recover.  Alex’s family removed life support and permitted him to pass.

– Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz, Case No. 19CV03287