Police Probe College Student's Death After Frat Party In Woods
OREGON, Ill. (CBS) -- Sheriff's deputies in Oregon, Ill., are investigating the death of an Illinois Wesleyan University student after a fraternity party in the woods.
As WBBM Newsradio's David Roe reports, the body of Brandon Landau, 18, was found midday Sunday at White Pines State Park just outside the town. He was taken by helicopter to Rockford Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. Sunday, according to the Winnebago County Coroner's office.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's David Roe reports
Podcast
Landau's body was discovered following a party thrown in the state park by the Illinois Wesleyan chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity. Friends said they last saw him in the state park at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Landau, of the New York borough of the Bronx, was a member of the fraternity, according to Illinois Wesleyan spokesman Matt Kurz.
The coroner's office said Landau's lower torso was in a stream and his upper body was on a log. The only trauma was superficial cuts and abrasions.
A Monday autopsy was inconclusive, pending further forensic studies and toxicological tests.
Kurz said Landau was a first-year student at the school in downstate Bloomington. The Sigma Pi website said the political science major was a fall 2011 pledge.
Landau lived in a first-year student dormitory, and the university provided counseling services Sunday night to other residents and members of the fraternity, Kurz said.
A remembrance service was held Monday morning at the university chapel, Kurz said.
Kurz said no other injuries were reported to university students in the Oregon gathering.
Oregon is located about 20 miles southwest of Rockford, and about 100 miles west of Chicago.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
