College student reportedly dies from alleged fraternity hazing

22-year-old Horacio Castillo III, a law student from the University of Santo Tomas, has died as a result of suspected hazing by members of the Juris Aegis fraternity.

His body was found inside a bag on a street in Tondo

Last Saturday, September 16, he attended the Juris Aegis fraternity's welcoming rites at the UST campus. According to his parents, Horacio was finally admitted into the organization after completing tasks such as cleaning the hallways and running errands for its members.

In the morning of Sunday, September 17, a resident found Horacio's body inside a bag on a street in Balut, Tondo. Upon realizing that there was a body inside the bag, the resident immediately brought Horacio to the Chinese General Hospital, but he was already dead when he reached the hospital.

His family learned of his death through an anonymous text message.

"He went through extreme pain and suffering"

His distraught father shares, "Mayroon siyang mga hematoma. His body is bloated. Nakita ko, there was extensive damage in the upper arm and some burn marks, cigarette burn marks... and pinatakan ng candle wax."

"He went through extreme pain and suffering. I don't know why they did this when it is a legal fraternity in UST and they are lawyers," he goes on.

He also urged his son's killers to turn themselves in. "Sana naman ma-konsensya sila. He was only 22 years old, he was robbed of his future. Sana lumabas na sila. Tell everything, tell the truth."

His body will be undergoing autopsy in order to determine the cause of death.

His death was confirmed as a result of hazing

In a recent update from ABS-CBN news, the autopsy results have confirmed that Horacio died as a result of the fraternity hazing. It was found that he suffered a heart attack as a result of the "massive injury" that he received during the hazing.

Among his injuries were hematomas, or blood clots that were found on his arms and legs.

According to Horacio's dad, he was initially against his son joining the fraternity since he was worried about hazing. However, his son reassured him that it would not happen and that the initiation rites were only limited to cleaning, doing errands for members, or singing in public. His son even added that the dean of UST Civil Law was also a member of the Juris Aegis fraternity.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com

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