Grand Jury Seeking Files In Hazing Death

A grand jury is subpoenaing files from the University of Texas investigation into hazing by the Texas Cowboys spirit group and the drowning of a pledge from Idaho.

The subpoena was issued after university officials refused to turn over the information to the Bastrop County sheriff’s office.

The grand jury wants school records containing student interviews, signed statements and other details from its inquiry that followed the April 29 drowning of Cowboys pledge Gabriel B. Higgins, 19, of Pocatello.

Higgins, still wearing his cowboy boots, drowned in the Colorado River in Bastrop County during an initiation event called a “picnic.” University officials did not find that Higgins was forced to swim, but they did ban the Cowboys from the campus for five years for hazing violations.