Ryan Delanty and Thomas Shultz were accused Friday in Missouri's Boone County about the behavior towards Daniel Santulli, a teenager whose family says was coerced to drink until his heart stopped last October during pledge month at Phi Gamma Delta. Shultz is facing an additional felony charge of tampering with evidence.
Santulli has been left permanently and harshly disabled as a result, in what his family's lawyer says is the worst-known incident of hazing abuse in U.S. history.
TECH GIANTS JOIN FORCES WITH DHS IN HERCULEAN BATTLE AGAINST CHILD EXPLOITATION
Santulli's family has previously filed civil suits against 23 members of Phi Delta Gamma, but this is the first time anyone has been criminally charged.
It's vague if Delanty and Shultz have been called upon as defendants in that civil suit.
HORRIFIC FOOTAGE EMERGES: FRANTIC RESCUE EFFORTS AFTER RUSSIAN MISSILES HIT UKRAINIAN CITY (WATCH)
The two young men are charged with felony hazing and misdemeanors of providing liquor to a minor or intoxicated person.
HIGH-STAKES SUMMIT: G7 MULLS SANCTIONS ON IRAN, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?
Santulli was force-fed beer through a tube and pushed to down an entire bottle of vodka by his "fraternity fathers," including Delanty. At the end of the night, Santulli had a shocking .468 blood alcohol level, six times the legal limit in Missouri.
WATCH: NEWT GINGRICH'S APPROACH TO "DEATH TO AMERICA" CHANTS
Delanty is accused of giving the bottle of vodka to Santulli and telling him to drink, while Shultz was the fraternity's Vice President and brought the vodka for the party. Shultz is 21, while Delanty is assumed to be around 20 but his age is unclear.
WATCH: THIS IS HAPPENING HERE IN PLAIN SIGHT
When Santulli passed out and went into cardiac arrest, they left him outside a hospital.
UNTHINKABLE IMPACT: ISS DEBRIS STRIKES FLORIDA RESIDENCE, NASA LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION
Now, he will probably never walk, talk or see again. His mother, Mary Pat, has left her banking job to care for him full time.
The family has filed cases against the fraternity, the owner of the house and the frat members.
"It's as horrible as it could possibly be and (have him) still be alive," Santulli family's attorney David Bianchi told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER REVEALS SHOCKING SAFETY CONCERNS PLAGUING BOEING'S 787 DREAMLINERS
"It's the worst fraternity hazing injury ever in the United States. We've been doing these cases for 30 years. I know the landscape of hazing. I know the defense lawyers who defend the fraternities. And everyone agrees this is the worst ever."
POLITICAL FIRESTORM: SPEAKER JOHNSON FACING FIERCE REBELLION OVER FOREIGN AID BILLS
Bianchi has filed the civil suits against members of Phi Delta Gamma, with all but two settling out of court.
So far, Delanty and Shultz are the only people who've been charged by Boone County (where the school is located), but further criminal charges are likely to follow.
PROGRESSIVES LAUNCH 'PROTECT THE SQUAD' INITIATIVE AMIDST RISING PRESSURE
"There are probably another dozen or more fraternity members who were responsible for this hazing event," Bianchi added.
Surveillance footage has emerged of the brutal hazing. Santulli was attending "Pledge Dad Reveal Night" at Phi Gamma Delta.
PUTIN SHARES 'PEARLS OF WISDOM' WITH IRANIAN COUNTERPART AFTER ATTACK ON ISRAEL
The teenager was ordered to down a 1.75-liter bottle of Tito's and had been force-fed to him through a tube.
Surveillance footage received by Good Morning America shows Danny and the other pledges being led shirtless and blindfolded down a staircase in the frat house.
Later, he is force-fed beer through a tube and is seen falling backward, passing out on a table, and then blacking out on a couch.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
