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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.
FRATERNITY SUSPENDED AFTER POSSIBLE HAZING LEAVES UNIVERSITY STUDENT IN CRITICAL CONDITION: REPORT
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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Loved ones are devastated after a 37-year-old man was attacked by a dog and stabbed to death by several men on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The unprovoked attack happened on May 20 as Berry Henderson, 37, was standing at a bus stop near Hollywood Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue around 3 p.m.
Surveillance video showed Henderson running into the street as a dog was seen chasing him and aggressively biting him.
Henderson managed to pull out a knife and stabbed the dog to defend himself. That’s when a group of four men, one of whom was the dog’s owner, rushed over to attack Henderson. A suspect who was armed with a machete was seen stabbing and punching Henderson.
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A group of four men stabbed and punched Barry Henderson after he stabbed the attacking dog in defense on May 20, 2026. (Henderson Family) -
Berry Henderson, 37, tried to escape the area from his attackers who quickly cornered him again on May 20, 2026. (Henderson Family) -
Loved ones held a candelight vigil at the crime scene on the Hollywood Walk Fame to honor Berry Henderson on May 29, 2026. (KTLA) -
Berry Henderson, 37, is seen in a family photo. -
Berry Henderson, 37, is seen in a family photo. -
The victim’s cousin, Demeya Brewer, speaks with KTLA at a candlelight vigil in Hollywood on May 29, 2026. (KTLA) -
Surveillance video showed Berry Henderson, 37, running into the street as a violent dog was seen chasing him and aggressively biting him near Hollywood Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood on May 20, 2026. (Henderson Family)
The victim’s cousin, Sharon Grimes, said she was stunned that no bystanders acted to help Henderson.
“People around weren’t doing anything,” she said. “I didn’t see anybody try to come to his rescue, with all that blood. Nobody picked up the phone.”
“That’s what makes it so shocking,” said Najee Ali, a community activist. “That someone could actually be stabbed to death, beaten and bit by a dog in broad daylight with no one helping.”
Henderson, who was critically injured, stumbled across the street while trying to escape the attackers, but the men quickly came after him again.
“He was running away,” said Demeya Brewer, the victim’s cousin. “He was down on the ground, running away and they still continued to attack him.”
Henderson, who had suffered multiple stab wounds, died from his injuries at the hospital.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to the scene and were able to locate and arrest three suspects. The fourth male suspect managed to escape.
On Friday night, Henderson’s family gathered at the scene for a candlelight vigil to honor Henderson, who was a student at a local trade school. Family members said he was a peaceful man who was loved by his friends and community.
“My cousin was not a threat to anyone,” Brewer said. “This was his area, his neighborhood. Business owners knew him. We need more love and peace.”
Henderson’s family believes there are witnesses who likely know where the fourth suspect is hiding. They’re asking anyone with information on the case to call the LAPD at 213-382-9470.
A man suspected of repeatedly shooting at other vehicles while driving on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles County was arrested on May 29, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP pulled over the suspected shooter, Martin Moreno-Pacheco, in South Los Angeles at about 3:40 a.m. Friday. Prior to his arrest, CHP officers suspected that Moreno-Pacheco was connected to multiple freeway shootings in recent days.
On May 26, a driver reported a car-to-car shooting, which they said happened on the 405 Freeway near Wilmington Avenue on May 23. The victim told investigators that the person responsible for the shooting was driving a black pickup truck.
“The victim reported an unprovoked shooting occurred, resulting in damage to the victim’s vehicle,” CHP said.
On May 28, at about 5:30 a.m., another car-to-car shooting was reported on the 405 Freeway south of Vermont Avenue. The victim told investigators that their car was damaged in a shooting committed by someone in a black pickup.
“Based on the investigation conducted, both incidents, as well as a third incident, which occurred on May 22, 2026, were determined to be committed by the same individual,” CHP said.
Moreno-Pacheco was found and arrested a week later. Upon searching Moreno-Pacheco’s truck, CHP officers found a loaded BB gun inside the truck’s passenger compartment.
No one was injured in the shootings, CHP said. CHP is asking any additional witnesses or victims of the alleged crimes to contact Officer C. Ortega at the CHP South Los Angeles Area office at (424) 551-4000.
Three rescued California sea lion pups were released back into the Pacific Ocean in Manhattan Beach Friday morning after weeks of rehabilitation for malnutrition, dehydration and other health issues. The public release event took place on the north side of the Manhattan Beach Pier and was hosted by the Marine Mammal Care Center, Los Angeles […]
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