What was supposed to be a fun weekend centered around a 2024 formal in Nashville turned into a horrible tragedy for a member of the University of Missouri chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity. Approximately one year after Riley Strain's lifeless body was found in the Cumberland River, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on March 22, 2025.
At issue is the violation of alcohol-related rules and the alleged negligence of Strain's fraternity brothers, who stand accused of letting an extremely inebriated Strain wander off unattended. The six-count suit names several defendants, including the Delta Chi fraternity, members of the Board of Chapter Advisors, and thirty members of the Missouri fraternity chapter.
Going Greek in the Athens of the South
According to the lawsuit, Strain was encouraged to rush the Delta Chi fraternity chapter at the University of Missouri in 2020. Among selling points that included future financial success, networking through alumni, and on-campus resources, his recruiters stressed that Strain would be welcomed into a brotherhood that would act as another family.
Founded in 1890 at Cornell University, Delta Chi's recruiting targeted parents of potential brothers. This included assuring them that their children would be kept safe through Delta Chi's alcohol use and misuse policy.
The policy includes the prohibition of any spirits with an alcohol-by-volume (ABV) of 15% or more from chapter facilities or events unless served by an insured and licensed third-party vendor. The lawsuit alleges that these policies were not worth the paper they were written on and largely ignored by the fraternity members.
In Spring 2024, the annual Delta Chi destination formal was designated to take place in Nashville, Tennessee. Brothers were allowed to bring a non-member as a guest, and some brought dates. Strain initially indicated he was not interested in attending, but relented after cajoling and pressure from his Delta Chi brothers.
Departure was on March 8, 2024. Once on the charter buses heading to Nashville, Delta Chi members produced Jello shots made with vodka, which has an ABV averaging 40%. Beer was also available on the buses. Riley was offered several drinks by his brothers.
After their late afternoon arrival in Nashville, the Delta Chi group began hitting bars. As the revelry continued, several fraternity brothers noticed that Strain was noticeably showing the effects of his drinking. By the time they hit what would be the final stop of the night, Strain was unable to stand without assistance and was incoherent. Bouncers in the bar decided he was cut off and forced to leave the bar.
None of Strain's Delta Chi brothers left the bar to assist him. Extremely inebriated and alone in an unfamiliar city, Strain wandered in the opposite direction from the hotel he and his brothers were staying in. After telling a Nashville police officer, "I'm good, how are you?", Strain continued walking before apparently tumbling down a steep embankment and into the Columbia River, which was swollen due to recent rains.
Strain's fraternity brothers weren't concerned when they returned to the hotel and he wasn't there. They alerted the Nashville police at noon on March 9, but it was already too late. Strain had already drowned in the Columbia, although his body wouldn't be found until March 22, some eight miles downstream.
No Band of Brothers
Strain's death was ruled accidental, with no evidence of foul play and a blood alcohol level that caused impairment but wasn't lethal by itself. An investigation determined that he wasn't overserved by any of the bars Delta Chi frequented.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Strain's family accuses Delta Chi, the LLC that owns the chapter's fraternity house, 30 of his fraternity brothers, and members of the Delta Chi Board of Chapter Advisors of negligence and vicarious liability. They seek unspecified damages based on his lost earning potential and the pain and suffering endured before his death. No court date has been set yet.
There's no happy ending for anyone involved when a 22-year-old dies from something completely preventable. His fraternity brothers meant him no harm, but a jury will determine if they should have cared about his well-being at a time when he required help.
Related Resources
- Injured at a College House Party? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- What Are the Elements of Negligence? (FindLaw's Accident and Injury Law)
- Social Host Liability (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
