March 11 (UPI) -- Authorities in Baton Rouge announced Tuesday that two more people have been arrested in connection to the fraternity hazing death of a Southern University and A&M College student.
Caleb Wilson, 20, a band member and engineering student at Southern University, died late last month. Authorities said his death was a direct result of repeated punches to the chest.
Caleb McCray, 23, turned himself in on Friday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of manslaughter and criminal hazing.
In a Tuesday statement, the Baton Rouge Police Department announced that two additional suspects had been detained: Isaiah Smith, 28, who turned himself into the authorities earlier that morning; and Kyle Thurman, 25, who was arrested on Monday.
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Both are being held at the East Baton Rouge Parish prison on charges of criminal hazing.
Thurman was arrested in Port Allen, La., by the Baton Rouge Police Department's Violent Crimes Apprehension Team and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
Authorities said they learned of Wilson's death at around 2:40 a.m. Feb. 26 by medical staff at Baton Rouge Medical Hospital. Wilson had been dropped off at the emergency room by a group of men who said he had collapsed while playing basketball. They left the facility prior to police arriving.
The ensuing investigation uncovered the hazing incident, which occurred at a warehouse located at 3412 Woodcrest Drive. Police said Wilson was punched in the chest multiple times while pledging to the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Police said at no time did anyone call or attempt to call 911, denying Wilson medical aid after he collapsed at the warehouse.
"We got to do better, Baton Rouge. We got to do better," the city's mayor, Sid Edwards, said at a press conference on Friday. "We feel like sometimes we take one step forward and two steps back. It's a sad day to lose such a promising young life."
Southern University System President Dennis Shields said Omega Psi Phi has been ordered to cease all activities and all campus greek organizations are being barred from permitting new members until at least the remainder of the academic year.
Wilson was a member of the university's marching band, known as the Human Jukebox, which held a candlelight vigil in his honor on March 5.
The university announced on Tuesday a public memorial will be held Friday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center with a viewing to be held from noon to 5 p.m., followed by a celebration of life service.
