Monday,  February 17 , 2025

Linkedin Pinterest
News / Northwest

WA appeals court finds WSU liable in hazing death of Bellevue teenager

By Jessica Fu, The Seattle Times
Published: January 24, 2025, 10:52am

Washington State University is liable for the 2019 fraternity hazing death of student Sam Martinez, a state appeals court ruled this week.

A 19-year-old freshman from Bellevue and a Newport High graduate, Martinez died of alcohol poisoning while pledging a WSU-recognized fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega.

In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Martinez’s parents argued that WSU, the fraternity and others bore responsibility for the death. In 2022, a King County Superior Court judge dismissed the case against the university, writing that WSU did not owe a duty of care to Martinez.

The appeals court decision Tuesday overturns that ruling.

“Because WSU has a special relationship with its recognized fraternal organizations, we conclude that it owed a duty to use reasonable care to control the fraternity and protect Sam from the foreseeable harms of fraternal hazing and alcohol misuse,” the Washington Court of Appeals, Division 1, wrote in its decision.

Since Martinez’s death, his parents Jolayne Houtz, a former Seattle Times reporter, and Hector Martinez have successfully lobbied for the passage of state and federal anti-hazing laws.

In 2022, then-Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that updated the state’s definition of hazing and required schools to publicly report all hazing investigations, now known as “Sam’s Law.”

Last December, former President Joe Biden signed into law a bill championed by Houtz and Martinez that makes it mandatory for schools to disclose hazing incidents and to develop programs educating students on the activity’s dangers.

The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office in 2021 charged 15 former members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity in connection to Martinez’s death. Some were sentenced to probation, while others served anywhere from a single day to 19 days in jail, according to The Spokesman-Review.

WSU stripped its recognition of the fraternity until 2026, effectively suspending the chapter from operating at the school.

Loading...