Five individuals indicted in death of Southern University band member Caleb Wilson

Wilson died Feb. 27 after participating in an off-campus event for pledges of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity chapter at Southern. His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.

All five men accused in connection with the hazing death of 20-year-old Southern University student Caleb Wilson have been indicted, with two of the individuals being booked in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

District Attorney Hillar Moore told WAFB in Baton Rouge that investigators are still looking into the case and are hopeful for “cooperation” from the individuals allegedly involved.

Jadyn Landrum, 24, and Winston Craig Sanders, 22, were booked on nine counts of misdemeanor hazing. Isaiah Earl Smith, 29, Caleb McCray, 24, and Kyle Thurman, 25, were arrested in March and each faces felony hazing charges.

McCray was indicted on a manslaughter charge, Smith was indicted on a principal to manslaughter and obstruction of justice charges and Thurman was indicted for obstruction of justice.

A sixth suspect was not indicted but could be if more evidence surfaced.

Wilson died Feb. 27 after participating in an off-campus event for pledges of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity chapter at Southern. Pledges were to take four punches to the chest with boxing gloves. According to police, McCray landed the final punch on Wilson, causing him to go into shock and later die from commotio cordis, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, creates an abnormal heart rhythm (ventricular fibrillation) and cardiac arrest.

The Beta Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi was expelled from the university following the incident, and McCray, Smith, and Thurman were stripped of their membership by the organization.

“Rather than call the authorities once they realized something bad was going on with Caleb, what did they do? Change his clothes, come up with a story and drop him on the steps of the hospital,” Rob Marionneaux, attorney for the Wilson family, said.

Wilson’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the expelled Omega Psi Phi chapter and the national organization, along with the state of Louisiana, Southern University, and individuals believed to have been involved in Wilson’s death. The junior, who was majoring in mechanical engineering, also played trumpet for the Human Jukebox Marching Band.