Two parallel investigations underway into death of UK student

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - There are now two parallel investigations into the death of UK student Lofton Hazelwood.

The Fayette County coroner said the 18-year-old freshman, from Henderson, Kentucky, died Monday night from presumed alcohol toxicity after police found him unresponsive at the Farmhouse Fraternity on UK’s campus.

Tuesday night, UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto announced they were suspending all activities for the Farmhouse Fraternity while Hazelwood’s death is being investigated. Its members are still living in their chapter house on campus.

UK Police has started their investigation. Chief Joe Monroe told us they are in the process of interviewing people. UK’s Office of Student Conduct is also beginning a review.

The university is asking anyone who knows what happened to call UK Police.

They’ve said those investigations will be made public once they are complete, although there may be some redactions to protect the privacy of students.

Spokesperson Jay Blanton told us they realize it may take some time to finish both investigations.

“We don’t know yet what happened or what the context was exactly. But, we are going to find out. And as President [Capilouto] and Vice President Turner indicated in the email last night, we’re not only going to find out. We’re going to report, fully, to our campus, what happened, how it happened, why it happened and what we can do going forward,” Blanton said.

We asked Blanton if there will be any changes to their fraternity and sorority system, based upon what happened Monday night. He said It was too early to speculate on that, but it would be part of the investigation.

The university held a vigil Tuesday night to remember Hazelwood. There is another one planned for Wednesday evening.

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