Boulder, Colo. -- The body of an 18-year-old male student was discovered Friday morning at a fraternity house on University Hill, across from the University of Colorado in Boulder, police said.
Earlier reports that the student was stabbed to death were in error. Boulder police say there are no obvious signs of trauma and the cause of his death remains under investigation, although grief counselors told students the death was alcohol related.
The coroner's office identified the student as Lynn Bailey Jr. of Dallas and said the results of an autopsy were pending.
The student's body was found in a common area in the Chi Psi house, which is located at 14th Street and College Avenue, near the CU campus. Police responded to the fraternity house just before 9 a.m. after a 911 caller reported that there was an unconscious man not breathing.
Investigators cordoned off the building to search for clues and moved fraternity members to another location for questioning.
Police said the dead student was a freshmen pledge with the fraternity, 7NEWS reported.
Several CU fraternities and sororities were holding afternoon parties Thursday to celebrate the end of CU's Rush Week, and police are investigating whether there was a party at the Chi Psi house,
Daily Camera reported.
The identity of the student will not be released until his family can be notified.
CU's chancellor, Richard Byyny, issued a statement on the death:
"At this point, we do not know the circumstances surrounding this incident. In light of recent events in Colorado and around the nation, we are, of course, concerned about any possibility of the involvement of alcohol in this tragedy. This year, we undertook new initiatives to educate our students about the misuse of alcohol and the consequences for violations of alcohol policies. Again, we do not know whether alcohol played a role at this point," the statement said in part.
Students already can face suspension and in some cases expulsion for off-campus violations, such as underage alcohol possession and misdemeanors. Some students fear the school would further clamp down.
"It's outside my school responsibilities, on a weekend at my own house," said 20-year-old student Nate Ebbs. "It sucks that we can get disciplined (for off-campus violations).
In a separate incident early Friday, Boulder County sheriff's deputies pulled over a charter bus for speeding on U.S. Highway 36 and discovered members of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity had been drinking.
The fraternity members were returning to Boulder from an outing in Denver, sheriff's spokesman Vincent Montez said in a statement.
Eighteen of the bus' passengers were cited for underage drinking after it arrived in Boulder, Montez said in a statement.
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