18-year-old Thomas "Lofton" Hazelwood of Henderson, Kentucky died on October 18, 2021 while on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. He was found unresponsive at the FarmHouse fraternity.
Hazelwood was a 2021 graduate of Henderson County High School.
In October, the university launched two investigations following the incident. One was led by UK Police and the other by the UK Dean of Students Office. The investigations included nearly 50 interviews, reviews of available video evidence, and reviews of hundreds of thousands of messages and exchanges on relevant social media channels and platforms.
Wednesday, UK President Eli Capilouto released the preliminary findings of their investigations:
• The reviews found no evidence of physical coercion or forced drinking.
• Reviews found that FarmHouse Chapter members practiced hazing throughout the semester, creating a culture of noncompliance in which such activities were accepted.
• There is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing directly related to Hazelwood's death.
• Fraudulent IDs were purchased by members, which is illegal.
• There were findings of several violations of university policy and the Code of Student Conduct, including hazing; underage drinking and misuse of alcohol; and failure to follow UK’s COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
According the President Capilouto, the following actions have been taken:
• The national chapter of FarmHouse has revoked the local chapter’s status. The national chapter has issued a no-contact order, which means that the now former members of this chapter can have no association with FarmHouse for seven years.
• UK is revoking FarmHouse’s status as a registered student organization (RSO) on campus for at least four years.
• Individual students could be charged with violations of UK’s Code of Student Conduct and will go through the institution’s review and hearing process.
• Increased staffing within Fraternity and Sorority Life has been added with additional responsibilities for alcohol education and hazing prevention.
In a joint statement, President Capilouto and Vice President of Student Succcess Kirsten Turner said, "We cannot heal this pain. Nothing we announce today, or do in the future, will bring back Lofton. We cannot fill the emptiness of a life ended too early. But we can come together as a community to remember and to honor Lofton’s memory. We can hold our loved ones a little bit closer. And we can embrace this family and our students who are hurting, ensuring them that this UK community will be here for them always.
That is our solemn and sacred task now."
The UK Police investigation is not final. Two search warrants for specific social media content involving FarmHouse members have not been returned and may be outstanding for several weeks. UK Police believe that the investigation’s outcomes will not materially change based on these materials.
