Southwest
College freshman died after fraternity hazing led to ‘horrific’ abuse, family says
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The family of a Texas college freshman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from allegations that fraternity hazing drove him into a mental health crisis that led him to take his own life.
Sawyer Updike, an 18-year-old from Pearland, accepted a bid to pledge the Sigma Chi fraternity through the University of Texas at Austin’s Alpha Nu Chapter in August 2023, according to FOX 7.
Throughout his time as a member of the chapter’s pledge class, Updike was allegedly subjected to months of “horrific hazing” that ultimately drove him to suicide, the lawsuit states.
“This was just an outstanding young man,” Ted Lyon, an attorney representing Updike’s family, told Fox News Digital. “He scored 1410 on the SATs. He was a straight A student in high school.”
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Sawyer Updike’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging their son died by suicide due to “horrific hazing” while pledging the Sigma Chi fraternity at University of Texas at Austin in January 2024. (Ted B. Lyon & Associates, PC)
The 6-foot-6 freshman had just made the school’s skeet shooting team and “had the whole world ahead of him,” according to Lyon.
The alleged hazing took place at the Alpha Nu fraternity house in Austin, Lyon said.
“The culture that uses this type of, I call it depraved activity, is not the kind of culture that any major university ought to condone,” Lyon told Fox News Digital.
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Sawyer Updike was a high school football player and had just made the University of Texas at Austin’s skeet shooting team when he died by suicide in January 2024, according to Ted Lyon, an attorney representing Updike’s family. (Ted B. Lyon & Associates, PC)
According to the lawsuit, Updike was allegedly subjected to various methods of brutal hazing by members of the fraternity. The acts reportedly consisted of spearing a large fishhook through Updike’s leg, puncturing his hip with a staple gun and pressuring him through fear of punishment to ingest illegal substances, such as cocaine, according to FOX 7.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges members of the fraternity forced Updike to consume harmful amounts of alcohol, repeatedly burned him with lit cigarettes, and subjected the freshman to physical whippings and beatings, the outlet reported.
“We have a picture of the kid that stapled them before he did it,” Bill Johnston, an attorney representing the family, told FOX 7. “I mean, again, they were in some sick way, they were proud of it. They were proud enough to record it.”
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An evidence photo provided by the attorney representing Sawyer Updike’s family shows the 18-year-old surrounded by bottles of beer at the University of Texas at Austin. (Ted B. Lyon & Associates, PC)
The psychological damage from the alleged hazing was noticeable to Updike’s parents when he returned home for holiday break in 2023, according to Lyon.
“When he came home at Christmas, his mother and father knew something was wrong,” Lyon told Fox News Digital. “He weighed 192 pounds and looked emaciated, but they didn’t really know what it was. They didn’t know that he was being serially hazed and abused.”
The lawsuit reportedly states that Updike’s mental state was already deteriorating when he was provided with cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms on Jan. 16, 2024, the first day of the second semester of Updike’s freshman year, according to FOX 7.
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An evidence photo provided by the attorney representing Sawyer Updike’s family shows injuries allegedly sustained from hazing by the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2023. (Ted B. Lyon & Associates, PC)
Shortly after he was allegedly provided drugs, Updike drove to a local gas station parking lot and took his own life.
“He committed suicide in January 2024 and, of course, the parents wondered why,” Johnston said. “The mother was able to access his phone, talk to some people, and learn that he had been subjected to extreme hazing.”
While it does not appear Updike personally reported the instances of alleged hazing, at least one complaint regarding the fraternity was lodged with UT that fall semester, FOX 7 reported.
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Following Updike’s death, the university decided to close the Sigma Chi chapter, which had already been placed on deferred suspension due to a separate alleged hazing incident from the previous year, according to FOX 7. Hazing is illegal under Texas law and prohibited by university policy.
“There’s something wrong frankly with someone that would think this is a rite of passage that can be applied to another young person,” Johnston said, FOX 7 reported.
The wrongful death lawsuit names Sigma Chi International Fraternity, Alpha Nu Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin, the Alpha Nu House Corporation and five fraternity members, according to FOX 7.
“UT Austin is committed to providing a safe educational environment for everyone and does not tolerate hazing by any group or individual affiliated with the University,” the University of Texas at Austin said in a statement to FOX 7. “All such allegations receive the utmost attention and thorough investigation.”
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The National Sigma Chi Chapter and UT Austin did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“I live every day with the weight of his absence,” Sawyer’s mother, Sheryl Roberts-Updike, said in a news release, according to FOX 7. “No parent should ever lose a child, and certainly not because of hazing disguised as ‘brotherhood.’ What happened to Sawyer was cruel, senseless, and preventable. It is unbearable to know that a young man with so much promise was put through something so dangerous in the name of belonging.”
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Burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of items after ransacking a Sherman Oaks condominium building that was being fumigated. In June, residents of the building on Moorpark Street near Fulton Avenue said they were forced to leave their homes for three days for a planned fumigation. Feeling nervous about leaving the building unattended, residents came […]
Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled start Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks because of continued irritation in his left knee, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Friday.
Ohtani left a June 11 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates due to irritation in his left knee, which underwent surgery in 2019 to correct a congenital condition called bipartite patella.
According to ESPN, he has been managing the issue since.
Due to the injury, Ohtani will also not travel to Philadelphia or participate in the 2026 All‑Star Game.
The two-way star will serve as the designated hitter through the weekend, and after the series, “he will have some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season,” according to the Dodgers.
A woman injured during the chaotic Fourth of July beach takeover in Newport Beach is speaking out as authorities prepare for a similar event that could target nearby Huntington Beach this weekend, as well as an Orange County theme park.
The July 4 gathering in Newport Beach devolved into violence, with fires set, businesses looted and law enforcement officers targeted with explosives.
More than 400 people were arrested in connection with the unrest. Authorities later said many of those taken into custody had traveled from Arizona and Nevada.
Among the dozens of people injured was Cassandra Torres, a longtime Orange County resident who said she never expected to become a victim while celebrating the holiday in a city she has visited for years.
“It’s horrible. It’s disgusting behavior, and now we’re paying for it,” Torres told KTLA.
Torres said she was riding her e-bike when a large crowd of young people suddenly rushed toward her.
“The next thing I know, I’m waking up with strangers around me, which I’m grateful for all of them, and all I hear is, ‘She got pushed off her bike,’” she recalled.
She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated for multiple injuries, including serious cuts, bruising and a concussion.
“I’ve never seen a hospital that busy in my life,” Torres said. “It was supposed to be a safe, fun day, and it turned into a nightmare.”
As victims continue to recover and investigators sort through the aftermath, law enforcement agencies are now focused on preventing another large-scale disturbance after social media posts promoted a so-called “Beach Bash” in Huntington Beach.
The Huntington Beach Police Department acknowledged the online flyer in a social media post Thursday, writing:
“Dear ‘Beach Bash’ organizers… Thanks for the flyer. We’ve seen it too. We have no intention of allowing that to happen here.”
In a statement to KTLA, the department said it has implemented a comprehensive public safety plan.
“Our comprehensive public safety plan includes increased staffing, proactive enforcement and the deployment of specialized resources throughout the city,” police said. “We are coordinating closely with our regional law enforcement partners and are prepared to respond quickly to any criminal activity.”
Officials also warned that anyone who organizes, promotes, encourages or participates in criminal acts associated with a takeover event could face arrest and prosecution.
Officials at Knott’s Berry Farm said they were also aware of a social media post promoting a teen takeover of the park over the weekend. Buena Park police officials said they plan to have an increased presence at the park.
As for Torres, a GoFundMe has been organized to cover her medical expenses as she continues to recover and follow up with specialists.
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