TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP -- Authorities in the Poconos held a news conference Tuesday morning to explain how they will prosecute the murder case against several members of a fraternity.
Nearly two years after a freshman pledge died after a hazing ritual in Monroe County, a grand jury recommended that his fraternity and dozens of its members be held responsible for his death.
Prosecutors say it took them almost two years to get to the point where they can begin filing charges because so many people are involved in this case.
Chilling details behind the death of the Baruch College student during a hazing ritual in the Poconos are finally being released.
Five people are already charged in connection with the death and dozens of others are expected to face charges.
There are 37 people who now face charges in Monroe County.
The fraternity Pi Delta Psi also faces charges.
Grand jury paperwork indicates that dozens of people from Baruch College and St. John's University were involved with Deng's death, and tried to cover it up.
Authorities in Monroe County accuse 37 fraternity members of lying, trying to hide evidence, and covering up in a hazing ritual that led to the death of Chun "Michael" Deng, 19, in December of 2013.
It happened at a house fraternity members had rented along Candlewood Drive near Pocono Summit.
"The ritual is brutal," said Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Chris Wagner. "During this phase of the ritual, Deng was speared and tackled on multiple occasions."
It was called the "glass ceiling."
Police say Deng was forced to wear a heavy backpack while he was beaten unconscious and then didn't get help for more than two hours.
According to the grand jury investigation, frat members even searched online for the price of an ambulance and thought it was too much.
Now prosecutors say they're going after everyone involved. Five will face third-degree murder charges.
The fraternity also faces a charge of third-degree murder.
"Obviously, you can't put a fraternity or corporation in jail, but you can hold them responsible, part of that is financially," said Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski.
Alumni at Baruch College in New York City say the case surprised many on this campus in 2013. These new charges are even more of a wake-up call.
"I was shocked," said Baruch College graduate Josh Altamirano. "At first I didn't think it would happen here at Baruch. I usually think of those things happening at other campuses, other schools upstate."
Since Deng's death, the Pi Delta Psi fraternity has been banned from Baruch College's campus in New York City. There have also been big changes to Greek life.
Since the fall of 2014, all on-campus Greek life pledging has been suspended.
Fraternity members say they also get a great deal of education about hazing and have to sign off on policies.
"You have to pass a quiz in order to sign it," explained Baruch College junior Rashed Siddique. "It tells you all these things about hazing and what to do, what not to do, and you have to pass it. All the members of the fraternity have to take it."
The college issued a statement saying:
"We owe it to Michael and his family to hold accountable those who were responsible for the senseless death of this promising young man."
Police say the five individuals who have already have been charged are expected to turn themselves in on Thursday.
The rest of the people will be charged in phases over the next several weeks.
"Some of these individuals have greater responsibility in this than others, so it did take investigators a while to filter that and really figure out who did what, and what their degree of involvement is," said Chief Wagner.
Deng's family released a statement:
"(T)he parents of Michael Deng applaud the actions by the police, grand jury and Monroe County District Attorneys to bring criminal charges against the Pi Delta Psi Fraternity and its members for the tragic, entirely preventable hazing death of Michael. Too many families have been devastated as a result of fraternity hazing, with at least one student dying every year from hazing since 1970. Fraternities and their members must be held accountable, and this step by authorities is an important one. Michael was a wonderful, beloved young man, and, in his honor, the family will also continue pursuing its wrongful death case against the fraternity to cause it and other fraternities to change so that other parents will be spared the loss of a precious child."