COLUMBIA, Mo. – It has been nearly three years since Danny Santulli’s former fraternity at the University of Missouri hazed him, forever altering his life. Now, a new six-episode series on A&E Network is uncovering the masks Greek life puts on at universities across the country, including Mizzou.
“Each episode features first-hand accounts of how the power, control, and secrecy of fraternities and sororities can create a cult-like dynamic leading to an environment where nefarious activity—from drug use to sexual assault—is able to thrive,” a description of the show reads on A&E’s website.
The first episode of “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life” aired Monday evening, focusing on the night of Oct. 19, 2021, at a fraternity house that sat on Kentucky Boulevard in Columbia, Mo.
Danny Santulli was two months into his freshman year, and he had joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, otherwise known as FIJI. That Tuesday night in October was the fraternity’s “Pledge Dad Reveal Night.” At the event, Santulli was forced to drink a liter of vodka, leading him to become unresponsive.
The hazing demands by other FIJI brothers were not uncommon, as shown in the A&E series. Members gave Danny orders to provide rides, free food, alcohol, and other duties like cleaning rooms and doing their homework.
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One message sent by Danny, as shown in the episode, read, “I know I didn’t clean your room that good last time, I’m really busy today. I will come by tomorrow with someone and finish it.”
He was met with the responses “Get two kids over here now,” “Figure it out,” and “I’ve been waiting for too long.”
“All of these things were going on, day and night, seven days a week, while he’s brand new in college and supposed to be in school,” David Bianchi, the Santulli’s attorney, said in an A&E preview.
Danny’s older brother and sister also attended Mizzou, with his sister Meredith being a student at the same time. According to her, Danny was displaying concerning behaviors leading up to the incident.
“I started to notice Danny wasn’t going to class, then Danny started to tell me he doesn’t have any money. I was like, ‘You’re not even a month into being a freshman at Mizzou; this isn’t making sense,'” she said.
In other footage from FIJI members, pledges, which are the new members who aren’t yet initiated into the chapter, were also physically hazed. Some of the videos and photos show members with their mouths duct taped, their arms upheld by being rope-tied to a stick behind their back, taped to a chair with various objects on them, and more.
“You’re supposed to feel almost like a piece of dirt, in the sense that you’re a servant for them. You’re not a person—you’re a pledge,” one man, who remained anonymous on camera, told A&E. “You have to do anything until you’re actually initiated. Then, you know, there’s the line-ups.”
On Oct. 19, 2021, cameras show the FIJI pledge class lined up, blindfolded, and walking down flights of stairs for their event. It can be seen in the disturbing surveillance videos of the excessive drinking forced on Danny, as he consistently stumbled and struggled to maintain balance.
His fraternity brothers put him onto a couch just before 11 p.m., which he slid halfway off around 12:30 a.m. Less than 15 minutes later, one member can be seen propping him back onto the couch as others begin to circle around. They carried Santulli outside, which is when the call to 911 was made.
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Danny was left blind and unable to walk or speak due to brain damage from alcohol poisoning. His alcohol content levels were at .486%, which is close to six times the legal limit in Missouri. He now lives back at home in Minnesota, under the full-time care of his parents.
Shortly after the incident, FIJI was permanently closed on Mizzou’s campus. Several members involved in the event from that October night have been charged, including Danny’s “pledge dad,” Ryan Delanty.
Additionally, the Santulli family is working to pass legislation, Danny’s Law, which would give some level of immunity to those who call 911 for a hazing victim, which they believe is something that could’ve helped Danny more in 2021.
“I tell everyone, Danny’s alive for a reason, because he’s not supposed to be with us,” Danny’s father, Tom Santulli, said in an interview with FOX 2’s sister station, KOLR. “I truly believe he’s alive for a reason. He’s making a difference out there.”
New episodes of the series air Mondays at 8 p.m. CST on A&E Network.
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