A former University ofMissourifrat boyhas pleaded guilty to hazing another student by forcing him to drink so much alcohol he was left permanently blind and unable to speak or walk.
Ryan P. Delanty is facing six months in jail over the October 2021 incident which left Danny Santulli with significant brain damage.
Delanty, of Manchester, Missouri, pleaded guilty Friday in Boone County to supplying liquor to a minor and misdemeanor hazing.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a six-month jail sentence followed by six months of house arrest. Sentencing is May 24.
The hazing in October 2021 at a Phi Gamma Delta fraternity event left Santulli unable to see, walk or speak.
Danny Santulli, 19, is now blind, unable to talk and in a wheelchair as a result of the brain damage he suffered on a brutal night of hazing last October
Before: Danny is shown in 2020 before the hazing incident left him permanently disabled
Ryan P. Delanty is facing six months in jail over the October 2021 incident after pleading guilty to hazing
He was told to drink an entire 1.75 liter bottle of Tito's vodka and was force-fed beer through a tube.
The freshman passed out on a sofa and began to turn blue, but nobody called 911.
Harrowing footage shows the moment his frat brothers realized he was seriously ill before carrying him to a car to get him to the hospital.
By the time he got there, he had stopped breathing for long enough to cause severe brain damage.
Authorities said his blood alcohol content was 0.486, six times the legal limit.
He now lives at home with his parents and requires round the clock care. His family estimates his medical bills are in excess of $2 million.
'Ryan understands the gravity of the situation, and he´s pleased to reach a resolution that avoided a trial,' said Delanty´s lawyer, Stephanie Fortus.
The fraternity chapter has since been shut down. Santulli's relatives filed a civil lawsuit against the fraternity and 23 members. It was settled for an unspecified amount in 2022.
Danny is shown on the night in October 2021 with a bottle of Tito's in his hand
Danny is shown slumped half-off of the couch inside the frat house after passing out
Danny Santulli is shown above being carried to a car to be driven to the hospital on October 20 after a brutal night of hazing at his University of Missouri fraternity
According to the lawsuit, the pair wanted to make the night one 'the pledges wouldn't forget' so filled the frat house with 'cocaine, marijuana and alcohol'.
The new pledges had bottles of Tito's taped to their hands and were branded 'p*****s' if they stopped drinking, according to documents reviewed by DailyMail.com.
According to the lawsuit, the fraternity brothers gave Danny a family-sized handle of Tito's vodka and told him to finish it throughout the night.
He had, at that point, been at their 'beck and call' for a month as part of the grueling hazing process.
'He was sleep deprived, was having to buy things for the fraternity brothers with his own money and was repeatedly ordered to clean the brothers' rooms and bring food, alcohol and marijuana to them at all hours of the night.
'Making matters worse, during the pledging process, Danny had been ordered to climb inside of a trash can that had broken glass in it,' the lawsuit reads.
Two nights before the incident, Danny cried to his sister that he'd had enough, the lawsuit claims.
His family told him to quit the fraternity but he said he didn't want to because he 'wasn't a quitter.'
Santulli now requires round the clock care which his family say has cost them around $2 million
Samuel Gandhi (left) and Alec Wetzler (right) were also been named as defendants now by the family of Danny Santulli, a teenager whose family say was forced to drink until his heart stopped last October during pledge month at Phi Gamma Delta. Both pleaded guilty in 2023
The national fraternity and university both suspended the Missouri chapter following Santulli's hospitalization
The lawsuit also claims the boys were under caution from the school for a previous hazing incident at the time.
Another fraternity member, Thomas Shultz of Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty in April to supplying liquor to a minor.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, and was ordered to perform community service and complete a drug and alcohol education program.
It came after Samuel Gandhi and Alec Wetzler pleaded guilty in 2023. Both were named in the family's lawsuit.
