The parents of an 18-year-old University of Texas at Austin student have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a fraternity, alleging that months of violent hazing pushed their son into a psychological crisis that ended in his suicide in January 2024.
The family of Sawyer Lee Updike is suing the Alpha Nu chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, according to a press release from their attorneys.
The lawsuit claims fraternity members subjected Updike to a series of abusive acts throughout 2023, including spearing him with a fishhook during an alcohol-related event, piercing his hip with a staple gun, burning him with cigarettes, physically beating him and forcing cocaine into his nose. Updike also allegedly received threats that his girlfriend would be sexually assaulted…