BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Former Bowling Green State University Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers Jacob Krinn and Troy Henricksen were sentenced Wednesday afternoon for their involvement in the death of BGSU student Stone Foltz, who died of alcohol poisoning after a hazing incident in 2021.
Wood County Common Pleas Court Judge Joel Kuhlman sentenced Krinn and Henricksen each to 42 days in jail and 28 days of house arrest to follow their jail terms. Both men also are sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours of community service. Their jail sentences began immediately Wednesday.
Judge Kuhlman also ordered Krinn and Henrickson not to have any contact with the victim's family, to submit to mental health assessments and to pay fines and court costs. The judge also ordered both men to find employment and he ordered Krinn to finish his education.
In May, a jury convicted Krinn of hazing, furnishing alcohol to an underage person and obstructing justice. Henricksen was convicted of eight counts of hazing and seven counts of furnishing alcohol to an underage person.
The former fraternity brothers were acquitted of the most serious charges he faced in connection with Foltz's March 2021, death.
Foltz Family Statement
The victim's parents, Cory and Shari Foltz, issued a statement regarding Wednesday's sentencing:
“The young men convicted in Stone’s death now have to face the consequences of their actions. What they did was cruel, senseless, and destructive—to their lives and ours—and it wasn’t done in secret. Bowling Green State University leaders knew the PIKE chapter hazed its pledges and did nothing to stop it. We demand accountability, not just for Stone, but for every parent across the country who is dropping off their child at college. We naively believed University leaders would live up to their legal obligations by protecting our son from harm. We hope they will one day stop blaming everyone else, recognize their role in Stone’s death, and join us in the effort to end hazing in Ohio and across the country.”
The Foltz family's attorneys - Rex Elliott and Sean Alto - also released a statement:
“Sentences like these are just and will be far harsher under Collin’s Law enacted after Stone’s death. However, the only guarantee today is that other families will experience the nightmare the Foltz family endures as long as people in power refuse to take responsibility. The two young men sentenced today, plus the six others sentenced in June, were acting within a system created for them by adults—and only the adults can eradicate hazing for good. This means principally the Universities that harbor these organizations on their campuses. Until Universities start actively enforcing policies that prevent hazing on their campuses, more young lives will regrettably be lost.”
In April 2021, BGSU permanently banned PIKE from campus after the fraternity was found to have engaged in a pattern of hazing over a number of years.
BGSU administrators expelled three students and suspended 18 others after Stone's death.
Eight defendants faced charges in Foltz's death. Six of them took plea deals, two others were convicted at trial.
The Foltz family filed a lawsuit against BGSU on June 22, claiming the university bears responsibility for the 20-year-old's death following the hazing ritual at an off-campus house and was aware of a history of hazing on the campus.
The lawsuit was filed on Shari Foltz's behalf by Columbus-based Cooper Elliott law firm. BGSU denies any responsibility in Foltz's death.
On Aug. 2, BGSU hosted the first Ohio anti-hazing summit, where cultural changes and incident reporting were emphasized.
At the summit, BGSU President Rodney Rogers said there are three main ways schools and organizations can help stop hazing: education, reporting incidents and outreach.
The summit happened about one year and five months after Foltz's death.
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