NAU Fraternity Leader Gets Two Months in Jail After Pledge Dies With Blood Alcohol Level Five Times Legal Limit

Carter Eslick, the former pledge master for Delta Tau Delta at Northern Arizona University, has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of supervised probation following the fatal alcohol poisoning of 18-year-old freshman Colin Martinez

Appearing in Coconino County Superior Court on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, the 20-year-old former fraternity leader received his punishment after pleading guilty to a single felony count of hazing.

Court documents revealed that Martinez and three other recruits were forced to share two bottles of vodka during a brutal off-campus recruitment ritual on 31 January 2026, designed specifically to induce vomiting.

An autopsy subsequently recorded Martinez's blood-alcohol content at an astonishing 0.425 per cent, more than five times Arizona's 0.08 per cent legal driving limit for drivers aged 21 and over.

Alongside his jail term, Eslick was ordered to deliver 305 mandatory anti-hazing presentations, abstain from alcohol, and complete supervised substance abuse treatment.

The tragedy has reignited intense national scrutiny regarding toxic Greek life practices, prompting swift institutional closures and renewed legal demands for accountability across American university campuses.

Two Bottles of Vodka Among Four Pledges

The night began as a recruitment event. Martinez, a Northern Arizona University freshman, and three other pledges shared two bottles of vodka at the off-campus house to ensure they vomited, according to court documents. Investigators put the combined volume at roughly 3.5 litres, Arizona's Family reported.

The same documents lay out what followed through the night. Witnesses reported adjusting Martinez's sleeping position and checking his pulse and breathing for signs of alcohol poisoning throughout the night, and searched online for symptoms of alcohol poisoning before emergency crews were called.

Bystanders were performing CPR when first responders reached the house, Fox News reported, and Martinez was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy determined that he died of alcohol poisoning.

Sixty Days and 305 Presentations

Eslick, now 20, pleaded guilty in August to a single felony count of hazing. His plea agreement capped the possible sentence at four years of probation and up to a year in jail, according to Coconino County Superior Court records, as reported by KTAR.

The judge imposed 60 days. Alongside the jail term, Eslick must serve three years of supervised probation, during which he must deliver 305 anti-hazing presentations, abstain from alcohol and unprescribed drugs, complete required treatment and keep the court informed of his progress.

He could face further jail time if he breaches those conditions. Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker said no sentence could undo the harm to Martinez's family.

'My hope is that this case helps people understand the serious dangers of hazing and encourages them to speak up and intervene before another family experiences this kind of loss,' he said in a statement. Eslick is no longer a student at the university. The AP sought comment from his lawyer, Burges McCowan.

Three Arrests, One Indictment

Eslick was not the only fraternity leader arrested. Police initially arrested two other members of the chapter's executive board, Ryan Creech and Riley Cass, both 20, on hazing-related allegations after Martinez's death. After further investigation and an independent review, prosecutors indicted only Eslick.

The chapter was subsequently suspended and closed. Northern Arizona University suspended Delta Tau Delta after Martinez died, and the national organisation closed the NAU chapter in February.

The university said at the time that violence, hazing and any other behaviour that endangers others has no place at NAU.

Martinez died at 18 after a night of fraternity hazing. Eslick will serve 60 days in jail and three years of supervised probation, with 305 anti-hazing presentations as part of the conditions.