KANSAS CITY – A hazing incident at the University of Missouri in Columbia left Danny Santulli unable to see, speak, hear or walk. Now, one of the men involved in the incident has been sentenced.
In October of 2021, the college freshman was being inducted into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. One night, fraternity brothers taped a fifth of vodka to each of his hands. He was also fed beer through a beer bong. According to reporting from the Columbia Missourian, video from the night shows Santulli passed out on a couch. It then shows him sliding onto the floor, and finally being picked up by some fraternity brothers — and then dropped, causing him to hit his head on the ground.
Following the incident, Santulli experienced cardiac arrest, leading to his current state. The Missourian reports, coupled with the alcohol poisoning, that “broke his brain.”
On Monday, the first of 11 people who were charged went to court. Thomas Shultz, a Chesterfield native, was originally charged with two felonies, including tampering with evidence, but pleaded guilty to just one misdemeanor. He’ll spend 30 days in jail doing “shock detention,” according to KOMU.
Columbia Missourian Editor Eli Hoff says that he’s been in touch with Santulli’s family a few times since it all happened.
“They’re caring for him 24/7 back home in Minnesota,” he said. “It really is round-the-clock care for him. It now seems very unlikely that he will ever regain his vision; it seems likely that he will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Those are the realities they’re grappling with.”