Four Oklahoma State University fraternity members found themselves in hot water after their alleged involvement in leaving a dead longhorn steer on the lawn of an opposing fraternity house. The suspects, identified by Stillwater police as Bennett Fady, Luke Ackerley, Brody Shelby, and Andrew King, were arrested and charged with the misdemeanor of unlawful removal/disposal of a carcass, as reported by WFAA.
The grim discovery was made on December 1, just before the much-anticipated Big 12 Championship game against the University of Texas, igniting an outrange among the students and local community. Members of the FarmHouse fraternity suspected the carcass was dumped by the rival fraternity of Alpha Gamma Rho as an escalated gesture in an ongoing prank war. Despite the uproar surrounding the incident, necropsy reports later confirmed that the steer had succumbed to disease nearly 36 hours before it was found, and the branding and incision of its abdomen occurred postmortem, law enforcement revealed.
In a search for justice, Stillwater police executed a search warrant at the Alpha Gamma Rho house, where they encountered a lack of cooperation. "There was a significant amount of collective lack of cooperation from the Alpha Gamma Rho organization," police elaborated in an affidavit cited by MSN. The investigation revealed that Fady's plan was actually discouraged by several members of the fraternity, signaling dissent within AGR's ranks.
Despite the obstacles, authorities were able to identify Fady, Ackerley, Shelby, and King as the primary suspects responsible for the grotesque prank. It was uncovered that to evade detection, the group used another member's pickup truck, parking it in the trees on the east side of an AGR member's family farm to transport the dead animal. All four were ultimately arrested and booked into Payne County Jail but were released on their own recognizance after pleading not guilty to the charges.
