Warrants obtained from the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court showed the death of Phi Delta Theta pledge Maxwell Gruver was the result of a drinking game referred to by members as “Bible Study.”
LSUPD investigators interviewed a witness who said the pledges and members were drinking around 10 p.m. on Sept. 13, according to the warrants. The witness noted most were drinking hard liquor, including Gruver. Other interviews indicated the pledges were being asked questions about the fraternity and were forced to drink excessively if they answered incorrectly. Text messages revealed the members called this “Bible Study.”
Several witnesses noticed Gruver was highly intoxicated at some point after midnight and laid him on the couch before leaving for the night, according to one witness in the warrants. The witness said he checked on Gruver the next day at 11 a.m. and found him still on the couch. Several other members found Gruver’s pulse was weak, and decided to transport him to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
According to the warrants, LSUPD seized several items on Sept. 14, the day of Gruver’s death, including cellphones containing video evidence of the events as well as text messages about “Bible Study,” a pair of sneakers, a Lorex Camera Control box, an Acer video monitor, a Lorex remote control, several power cords, a bottle of Ecolab floor cleaner, two strands of white knotted rope, one pledge test, a Home Depot five gallon bucket, two boxes of Nighttime Vanapain reliever, a duffel bag with several Natural Light Beer cans, several bottles of hard liquor, a bottle of Jim Beam Apple, a glass smoking pipe, a Galaxy S7 Edge Phone, a GoPro camera, cleaning supplies and various biological samples. 
Gruver’s iPhone was located two days later, and LSUPD investigated to find who he called and texted the night of his death, the warrants said.
The LSUPD investigation is still ongoing according to LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard.