Ten people were arrested in the alleged hazing death of LSU student Maxwell Gruver, but only four of the young men were indicted by an East Baton Rouge grand jury. At the time of the arrests, Matthew Naquin was the only one charged with negligent homicide, and the grand jury found enough evidence to indict him on that charge. Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino.
Ciolino says, "It's going to go to trial, likely a jury trial in district court... It's one that will likely go on for several months."
Three other people were indicted on a charge of hazing. The East Baton Rouge District Attorney decided not to pursue a hazing charge against one of the fraternity members. Ciolino says since grand jury proceedings are not public, it’s unclear why the other five were not indicted.
Ciolino says that the criteria for indictment will never be known or whether the DA "softballed the presentation of some of these defendants."
According to documents from the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s office, the grand jury heard evidence related to the five people not indicted, but the grand jury was pretermitted on whether they committed hazing or obstruction of justice charges. Ciolino says it’s likely these five individuals are in the clear.
Ciolino says that the DA "will respect the grand jury's decision," and that he "doesn't expect these individuals to be charged."