PULLMAN, Wash. — The Washington State Court of Appeals ruled this week that Washington State University (WSU) is responsible for the 2019 hazing death of a freshman student.
This ruling marks the first time a university within Washington has been held accountable for a hazing-related death.
19-year-old Sam Martinez from Bellevue died of alcohol poisoning while pledging a WSU-recognized fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega.
According to court documents obtained by KIRO 7, a fraternity member gave Martinez and another “pledge” a half gallon of rum and told them to drink it in less than an hour during the fraternity’s annual Big Brother Party.
Martinez’s blood alcohol content was at 0.372 during his autopsy, according to the coroner.
Martinez’ parents filed a lawsuit in 2020, arguing that the university, the fraternity, and others were responsible for their son’s 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 this week, however, overturned 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.
In 2021, the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office 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. Only one defendant was accused of providing alcohol to Martinez.
©2025 Cox Media Group
