Frat Bros Allegedly Beat Student While Trying to Steal Another Frat's Donkey Statue
Last week, five Pi Kappa Alpha bros at Ole Miss were arrested for allegedly beating a student “within an inch of his life” outside another fraternity house. Why? According to the Associated Press, the alleged assault happened while the bros were trying to steal the other frat’s donkey statue.
Ole Miss spokesman Danny Blanton told the AP this weekend that Pike brother James Basile and pledges Tucker Steil, Austin Rice, Christian Guy, and Kyle Hughes went to the Sigma Pi house at 4 a.m. on October 6 to steal the statue. They allegedly assaulted Sig Pi brother Jeremy Boyle sometime in the midst of the attempted theft.
The Daily Mississippian reported last week that Boyle suffered a “concussion, several broken teeth, a ruptured eardrum and a lung contusion” following the alleged attack. His grandfather Robert Boyle told WFLA, “They descended upon him and beat him unmercifully. Beat him within an inch of his life.”
Per the Daily Mississippian, Tucker Steil was charged with felony assault; James Basile was charged with assault, hazing, and larceny; and Christian Guy, Kyle Hughes, and Austin Rice were charged with larceny. As you can see above, they smiled for their mugshots.
Pi Kappa Alpha has since distanced itself from the incident, removing the five men from the chapter and insisting in a statement that “the assault was the action of individuals who made poor choices and do not represent the Chapter or the Fraternity.” National Pi Kappa Alpha spokesman Brent Phillips added in a statement to the AP that “the event was not a part of any chapter activities and chapter leadership initiated internal judicial proceedings upon learning of the incident.” But of course, the fact that stealing another frat’s donkey statue was not listed as an official Pike “chapter activity” doesn’t mean it wasn’t unofficially encouraged by other brothers.
