Police still investigating WVU frat death

By Linda Harris, WBOY-TV Legal Reporter

Morgantown police are investigating how an 18-year-old freshman at West Virginia University ended up on the floor of a fraternity house Nov. 12 suffering from what school officials characterized as a “catastrophic medical emergency,” Police Chief Ed Preston says.

Nolan Michael Burch, a New York native, was unresponsive when police arrived at the Kappa Sigma house on Belmar Avenue in the early morning hours Nov. 12. The responding officer performed CPR until emergency personnel arrived at the scene and took the youth to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead two days later.

Preston said the investigation is in the preliminary stages and declined to comment on the youth's blood alcohol content, saying that is a matter for the medical examiner.

“We're still doing interviews, we have a lot of work to do,” Preston said. “Right now, we're in the preliminary criminal investigation. We're investigating all aspects of the circumstances surrounding the incident, looking at any potential hazing issues, underage (consumption) issues or any other possible criminal violations.”

WVU's Kappa Sigma chapter had been suspended since mid-October for other, unrelated infractions, the fraternity's national office said Friday.

In a statement released not long after Burch's death, Kappa Sigma's national office distanced itself from the situation, saying they were “distraught and saddened” by Burch's death and were investigating, “(but) this proves difficult, as the operations of this chapter have been suspended since mid-October, due to previous, unrelated violations of Kappa Sigma's Code of Conduct.”

Kappa Sigma's national officers said both the chapter and WVU were notified Monday, Nov. 10, “prior to the event in question,” that the group's charter had been withdrawn and its operations closed.

Becky Lofstead, assistant vice president of communication for the Office of Student Life, said school officials received verbal notice Nov. 10 that the local chapter's charter had been withdrawn and said they sent the local chapter an official “cease and desist” letter two days later.

Lofstead said she could not say what the “previous, unrelated violations of Kappa Sigma's Code of Conduct” entailed.

Meanwhile, she said a university-wide ban on pledge and social activities within the Greek community, instituted Nov. 12, will remain in place “for the immediate future.”

“It will probably be through the end of the semester at least, after that we'll probably re-evaluate things,” she said.

Sororities and fraternities can hold chapter meetings or perform philanthropic projects, but only with prior approval, she said.

Preston said it's up to the university to police its Greek activities ban.

“We are investigating criminal activity,” he said. “Student conduct policies, charters, all of that is within the university's purview, they deal with that separately.”

Burch's death came days after three students were arrested and 16 others cited for a disturbance in a Morgantown neighborhood.

The students, pledging the Sigma Chi fraternity, had been left downtown “in an intoxicated state” with instructions to find their way home, Preston said.

The pledges, who initially identified themselves to police as members of a different fraternity, also could face obstruction charges.

Sigma Chi was suspended prior to the general ban on Greek activities being instituted, Lofstead said.