BATON ROUGE — Five men pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to their charges in connection with the death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson, according to District Attorney Hillar Moore.
Back in December, an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted those five men in connection with multiple hazing incidents, including one that allegedly led to the death of Caleb Wilson.
“It’s a shame that someone had to die just because he wanted to be in a fraternity,” Moore told UWK. “He just wanted to earn his spot in the fraternity he always wanted to be in but had to give his life to do so.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Tony Clayton, the chairman of Southern’s board of supervisors. “It’s inexcusable what they did to this child. They deserve whatever punishment that’s meted out to them.”
MORE: Coroner: Southern University’s Omega Psi Phi pledge died from blunt impact to chest
According to Baton Rouge Police and the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office, Wilson was punched during an initiation into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in an “unsanctioned fraternity ritual” at a warehouse off Greenwell Springs Road on the night of Feb. 26 and into the early hours of Feb. 27, 2025. Multiple pledges were present, and Moore said it appeared to be a large party.
“Everyone else got punched, but Caleb was the one who died because he was hit at the wrong time,” said Moore.
The official cause of death was listed as commotio cordis, a rare and life-threatening condition in which a blunt impact to the chest disrupts the heart’s rhythm and causes sudden cardiac arrest. Wilson was punched four times in the chest before collapsing and becoming unresponsive.
He was taken to a hospital, where staff contacted police after noticing “suspicious circumstances.”
“At no time did anyone call 911, attempt to call 911 or try to summon an ambulance to the warehouse to give him medical aid,” BRPD Chief T.J. Morse said in a news conference earlier this year. “Caleb Wilson died as a direct result of a hazing incident where he was punched in the chest multiple times while pledging to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.”
On Dec. 10, 2025, Moore and his prosecutors presented evidence to the grand jury, which returned indictments against five men.
“The grand jury really paid a lot of attention to this case and we presented all the available evidence and we believe the evidence is substantial and we believe people will be very upset at the behavior of those that were involved in this criminal activity,” Moore told UWK.
The five indicted include:
- Isaiah Earl Smith, 29, of Baton Rouge: principal to manslaughter, principal to felony hazing, obstruction of justice and 9 counts of misdemeanor hazing
- Kyle Thurman, 25, of Baton Rouge: principal to felony hazing, 3 counts of obstruction of justice and 9 counts of misdemeanor hazing
- Caleb McCray, 24, of Baton Rouge: manslaughter, principal to felony hazing and 7 counts of misdemeanor hazing
- Winston Sanders, 22, of Monroe: principal to felony hazing, 2 counts of obstruction of justice and 9 counts of principal to misdemeanor hazing
- Jaydn Landrum, 24, of Grand Prairie, TX: principal to felony hazing and 9 counts of principal to misdemeanor hazing
Charges against a sixth person were pretermitted, meaning the grand jury found insufficient evidence to indict him at this time. However, he has not been fully cleared. If new evidence emerges, he could still face charges.
Baton Rouge Police arrested Smith, Thurman, and McCray in March 2025. Warrants were issued for Sanders and Landrum due to the upgraded felony charges. Both were initially issued misdemeanor summonses and released. Since then, Sanders turned himself into authorities on Dec. 12 followed by Landrum arrested on Dec. 16th.
Moore said additional indictments may still be forthcoming related to Wilson’s death and the hazing of other Southern University students.
“We’re still trying to get into people’s telephones. We have gotten into some cell phones, but we’re still trying to get into more and then we may develop more information and more people may come forward to give us more information. We’re really waiting to see because we do believe there are people out there that have more information,” Moore added.
Max Gruver Act
Hazing can be considered a felony in Louisiana under the Max Gruver Act, passed in 2018. The law, named after an LSU Phi Delta Theta fraternity member who died in a 2017 hazing incident, enhances penalties for hazing-related offenses. Moore said his office is considering using the Gruver statute in this case.
“It’s one that we’re going to consider because in the Max Gruver law, which is hazing, it incorporates not only misdemeanor hazing, acts of regular hazing, but also when hazing involves a great bodily injury or death, there is a felony component to hazing, and it carries up to five years so that that is a potential,” Moore said.
He added hazing cases can be difficult to prosecute due to a lack of cooperation but that’s not an issue in this particular investigation.
“In this case, we had complete cooperation from Southern University, particularly Chancellor John Pierre and their student accountability office that handles discipline for these kids. I think all of them were expelled from school and found responsible for their actions. The National fraternity also cooperated and took statements and we were able to subpoena their statements as well,” Moore added.
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