HOUSTON – As Phanta "Jack" Phoummarath lay dying of alcohol poisoning, members of the club he was trying to join defaced his body with anti-gay epithets and obscene drawings, according to a medical examiner's report.
"It was disgusting and despicable behavior," said Houston attorney Randy Sorrels, who represents Phoummarath's family.
Sorrels said Phoummarath was not gay. The 18-year-old freshman from Houston, who wanted to join the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin, died Dec. 10, 2005, after ingesting large amounts of alcohol at a party at the fraternity house. The medical examiner reported his blood-alcohol content was more than five times higher than the level needed to prove intoxication in Texas.
Phoumarrath was found dead the day after the party in the bedroom where he passed out the night before.
Party-goers had used green and black markers to write "FAG," "I'm gay" and "I AM FAT" on Phoummarath's head, face, torso, legs and feet. Someone added several drawings of naked men and women, Dr. Roberto Bayardo of the medical examiner's office reported.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Phoummarath died after a heavy night of drinking in which fraternity members chanted for him and six other pledges to finish as many as eight bottles of vodka, whiskey, rum and other drinks being passed around.
A grand jury indicted three members of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity last month on charges of hazing, or abusing new members, following a yearlong investigation into Phoummarath's death.
The university suspended Lambda Phi Epsilon's status as a registered student organization until 2011.
Phoumarrath's family also is suing the fraternity.
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