Police conclude investigation of cause of Korona's death

The freshman who died last month of head trauma struck his head on a metal door frame minutes after performing a keg stand at Theta Chi fraternity, police said. The prosecutor said charges will not be filed.\nSeth Korona, 19, died Feb. 4 of bleeding in the brain caused by the trauma, Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said. Korona attended a Jan. 27-28 party at Theta Chi, was hospitalized Jan. 29 and was in a coma until his death.\nWhen Korona fell backward and struck his head, people around him thought he had passed out from drinking, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said.\nMonroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann said he will not file charges in the case.\n"Our original intent was to investigate to make sure there was no foul play," Salzmann said. "After all the investigation, what we have discovered is a tragic train of circumstances that led up to the death."\nKorona's family declined to comment Sunday through family friend Debra Neilson. She would not say whether the family was considering legal action against the University.\nAssociate Dean of Students Damon Sims said the dean's office has not seen the full report, but will be interested in taking any action suggested by the report. Sims said action against Theta Chi is likely and action against individuals is possible.\nSims said it is time for everyone to take another look at alcohol prevention and education on campus. The University has worked for 20 years to address alcohol use, but new approaches and "tricks" might now be necessary, Sims said.\n"Most students are concerned with working around the policy, rather than addressing abusive, high-risk drinking," Sims said.\nSims said IU is a dry campus only in terms of the policy.\n"No one believes there's no alcohol on campus," Sims said. "It's certainly not a dry campus effectively."\nSims said that although the climate on campus has improved slightly in recent years, student involvement will be needed to prevent what happened to Korona from happening to someone else.