 "Photo: Illustration by Cassi Lindberg")
There is nothing unknown now about the death of Matthew Carrington, said his mother, Debbie Smith.
The October 2006 issue of Playboy Magazine has the headline "Death In a Frat House" on the cover and an 11-page article about Carrington's hazing. The story tells the events that led to the Chico State student's death.
Carrington was a 21-year-old pledging the unrecognized Chi Tau fraternity when he died of water intoxication in the fraternity's basement on Feb. 2, 2005. He had been doing calisthenics and drinking water from a 5-gallon jug throughout the night, police said.
Smith had known for a long time what had happened in the basement, and it was hard to relive it when she read the story, she said.
"Some of the stuff I make myself forget because I just can't handle it," she said.
It took her a long time to get through the article, and she was depressed for days, she said.
"Some of the stuff was in more detail than I've ever had to go through, especially the autopsy," she said.
One part of the story told how after Carrington had a seizure, the men at the fraternity had almost called 911 but decided to wait. They didn't call until about an hour later, when he stopped breathing, according to the article.
The article states that a pathologist thinks Carrington may have had a chance of living if he had received medical attention within the hour after his seizure.
That part of the story was the hardest for Smith.
"I've always felt initially that they could have saved him," she said. "Knowing it makes it harder because they had his life at their fingertips and could have saved him."
At times, she felt the details invaded Carrington's privacy, she said.
"Now, there is nothing that people don't know," Smith said. "They know about the torture, the autopsy. It hurts that everybody has to know that."
But Smith thinks Jonathan Littman, the article's author, did a good job, she said. She hopes the article will help people understand the horrors of hazing.
Smith had heard of people buying Playboy Magazine for the articles but said she thought it was just an excuse. She has changed her mind.
"It's true," she said. "They are good."
Littman first heard about Carrington on the radio. He had experienced hazing himself when he joined a fraternity in college, he said in a phone interview.
He began writing the article in November 2005 and submitted it in April 2006.
To write the article and reconstruct the dialogue, Littman came to Chico three times and spoke with all the defendants, the police, District Attorney Mike Ramsey and Smith. He reviewed court records, transcripts and the testimonies of the people involved, he said.
Ramsey could not be reached for comment by press time.
Playboy fact-checked every line in the story, Littman said.
"It's very sad what happened in the basement," he said. "It's clear Matt and (fellow pledge) Mike (Quintana) were pressured into a situation by both an institution and a number of individuals. And Matt died because of it."
Joe Wills, director of public affairs at Chico State, heard about the article but has not had a chance to read it.
"I do intend to read the article. Just because it's in Playboy doesn't mean I wouldn't read it," he said.
While Wills thinks it is unfortunate that Chico State is involved, he thinks it's important to bring awareness to hazing.
"He was a student here, and we don't want him forgotten," Wills said. "And we want people to learn from what happened to him so that hopefully it never happens again."
Brian Haydel, president of Beta Theta Pi, hasn't read the article but thinks it will be interesting to see how the story was told.
He was worried there would be no distinction made between recognized and unrecognized fraternities. It reflects badly on all other fraternities, he said.
While the article does make the distinction, Haydel said it doesn't matter.
"All they see is 'Chico State' and 'fraternity,'" he said.
Jerit Daley, a member of Delta Chi, had not read the article as of Monday, but he thinks it is a good thing to talk about.
"We learn from our mistakes," he said. "Nothing like that ever should have happened. It gives us guidelines of what not to do."
Daley thinks the article makes people more aware, he said.
"When more people know about it, more can change."
Ashley Gebb can be reached at
Be the first to comment on this article!