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<p>BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) &#8212; A judge has ordered 12 members of a Penn State fraternity to stand trial in a pledge&#8217;s death but has thrown out the most serious charges, including involuntary manslaughter and felony counts of aggravated assault.</p><p>District Justice Allen Sinclair dismissed charges against four frat brothers.</p><p>He issued the ruling Friday after a seven-day preliminary hearing. Two other students previously agreed to have their cases go to trial.</p><p>Security camera footage from the since-closed Beta Theta Pi fraternity captured 19-year-old Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey, falling several times in the hours after he and other pledges were run through a drinking gauntlet. Doctors said he had consumed a toxic level of alcohol.</p><p>He suffered for hours from severe head and abdominal injuries before his frat brothers called an ambulance the next morning. He died a day later, on Feb. 4, of injuries including a fractured skull and damaged spleen.</p><p>Defense lawyers say Piazza&#8217;s death was tragic but unforeseeable.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">From right, Evelyn Piazza, attorney Tom Kline and Jim Piazza and walk toward the courthouse before a preliminary hearing resumes for members of a fraternity facing criminal charges over the death of Timothy Piazza, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore, suffered severe head and abdominal injuries last February, after consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol and fell repeatedly. Help wasn&#8217;t summoned until the next morning, and he later died at a hospital. (Phoebe Sheehan/Centre Daily Times via AP) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118292917-7a017b667d0d4f7ca3b94b060d413ba7-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>From right, Evelyn Piazza, attorney Tom Kline and Jim Piazza and walk toward the courthouse before a preliminary hearing resumes for members of a fraternity facing criminal charges over the death of Timothy Piazza, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore, suffered severe head and abdominal injuries last February, after consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol and fell repeatedly. Help wasn&#8217;t summoned until the next morning, and he later died at a hospital. (Phoebe Sheehan/Centre Daily Times via AP) </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118292917-b6ea70b4e3b1446d9652b5118c3141c4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">FILE - In this May 15, 2017, file photo, Evelyn Piazza, center, seated with her husband James, right, and son Michael, left, speaks during an interview in New York. The Piazza's talked about Timothy Piazza, 19, a brother, son and Penn State sophomore who died in February after he was put through a ritual at his fraternity house and forced to drink dangerous amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118292917-b6ea70b4e3b1446d9652b5118c3141c4-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>FILE - In this May 15, 2017, file photo, Evelyn Piazza, center, seated with her husband James, right, and son Michael, left, speaks during an interview in New York. The Piazza's talked about Timothy Piazza, 19, a brother, son and Penn State sophomore who died in February after he was put through a ritual at his fraternity house and forced to drink dangerous amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118292917-83f40f3fa34344b098a4a25266d8f39e-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Attorney Tom Kline, left, walks with the parents of Timothy Piazza, Jim and Evelyn Piazza, toward the courthouse before a preliminary hearing resumes for members of a fraternity facing criminal charges over the death of their son, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore, suffered severe head and abdominal injuries last February, after consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol and fell repeatedly. Help wasn&#8217;t summoned until the next morning, and he later died at a hospital. (Phoebe Sheehan/Centre Daily Times via AP) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118292917-83f40f3fa34344b098a4a25266d8f39e-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Attorney Tom Kline, left, walks with the parents of Timothy Piazza, Jim and Evelyn Piazza, toward the courthouse before a preliminary hearing resumes for members of a fraternity facing criminal charges over the death of their son, at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore, suffered severe head and abdominal injuries last February, after consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol and fell repeatedly. Help wasn&#8217;t summoned until the next morning, and he later died at a hospital. (Phoebe Sheehan/Centre Daily Times via AP) </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>

Penn State frat brothers cleared of most serious charges in pledge’s death