Sixth man pleads guilty in BGSU hazing death

A sixth defendant pleaded guilty this week for his part in a fraternity event that ended in the death of Bowling Green State University student Stone Foltz in March 2021, according to Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson. Daylen Dunson, 22, of Cleveland, appeared before Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman on Thursday. He was convicted of reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice and obstructing official business, as well as eight counts of misdemeanor hazing and seven counts regarding providing alcohol to underage persons. The reckless homicide charge was an amendment from involuntary manslaughter, and both are third-degree felonies, carrying a maximum penalty of three years in prison. This was the only amendment made to the indictment as part of the plea agreement. Dunson pleaded to all of the other counts in the indictment. Tampering with evidence is a third-degree felony, carrying the same penalty as the homicide offenses. Unrelated to the plea agreement, the obstructing justice charge had previously been amended from a third-degree felony to a fifth-degree felony, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison. The hazing charges are fourth-degree misdemeanors, carrying maximum penalties of 30 days in jail each. The providing alcohol to underage charges are unclassified misdemeanors, carrying maximum penalties of six months in jail and a $500 to $1,000 fine each. Foltz, 20, was found unresponsive by a roommate after being returned to his apartment on March 4, 2021. He reportedly had attended a fraternity event as a new member with the BGSU chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Foltz was taken to Wood County Hospital and then to Toledo Hospital, where he died on March 7, 2021. The Lucas County Coroner's Office ruled that Foltz's death was the result of fatal alcohol intoxication. According the statement of facts by Dobson, Dunson was the president of the BGSU chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha in spring 2021, when Foltz was rushing the fraternity, along with several others, most of whom were under the legal drinking age. He attended the hazing event as president, talking to the new members, taking part in photographs, and lending the approval of his position to what was happening, according to Dobson. After Foltz was rushed to the hospital later that night, police began investigating. According to Dobson, when the police interviewed Dunson, he provided false information about his whereabouts and whether a fraternity event had happened that night. He also told others to lie about the existence of the event, Dobson said, and he deleted social media pages and told others to do the same in an attempt to get rid of evidence before police could find it. "We have always considered Daylen Dunson to be one of the key players in allowing this event to happen and was, therefore, complicit in Stone's death," Dobson said. "Having Mr. Dunson finally accept responsibility for his part in this tragedy should come as a welcome relief to many." Two co-defendants, Jacob Krinn and Troy Henricksen, remain in the case and scheduled to go to trial before Kuhlman starting May 16.