Friends and family remember Luke Tyler, 19, as police probe mysterious death of WSU student in dorm
PULLMAN, WASHINGTON: Luke Tyler, a 19-year-old Washington State University student, who was discovered dead in his dorm room, is being remembered by his friends as a light-hearted man with a promising future and prankster tendencies. The remains of Tyler were reportedly found on January 22 inside the Perham Hall dorm on the University’s Pullman campus.
The local police have already launched an immediate investigation into the mysterious death of the WSU freshman. Although there is no indication of foul play, authorities said the official cause of Tyler’s death will be confirmed by an autopsy later this week, Independent reported. Following Tyler’s death, Phil Weiler, the Vice President for Marketing and Communications at WSU released a statement, saying, “WSU has a specific protocol it follows with procedures that are put in place out of respect for both the families and the investigative process. The university will not disclose any information that could inadvertently disrupt the work of the coroner’s office or law enforcement officials.”
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The untimely death of Tyler has undoubtedly left his friends and family heartbroken. His close friends recently remembered the last time they met him, just a few weeks before his winter holiday break ended. "We were hanging out with him literally the night before he went back," Matthew Brandjes, told Fox News Digital, adding "I remember we were driving around the area, just hanging out … we parked at his house, and we all just got out of the car and we were exchanging hugs. Just like, ‘We’ll see you soon,’ you know?"
Luke Tyler’s friends remember him as a light-hearted man who 'left smiles on everyone's faces’
Brandjes and five of Tyler’s other friends also mourned the sudden loss of their frequent exercise partner who – in and outside the gym – "helped out in any way he could." Brandjes remembered his friend saying he had the ability to "make every single person laugh, no matter who he talked to – could be an old grandmother. It could have been a little kid, he would walk around and just leave smiles on everyone’s face.”
Another friend, Artemiy Thayer, recalled how he got him a job working at a local pool even though they barely knew each other at the time. "I really got to see him for truly who he was just through working with kids," he said. "I think, in general, kids can always tell who’s a good person or not … He was by far the favorite of anyone." Yousuf Elswify, one of Tyler’s friends from home, created a GoFundMe page to support the Tyler family and raised over $11,200 before the account was disabled pending more details.
Petition started to demand action against Theta Chi frat house
Following Tyler’s death, a petition was started to demand justice and action against Theta Chi's frat house. The petition read, “His death directly followed a long and brutal pledging process sanctioned by his fraternity, Theta Chi,” adding, “Their inhumane and cruel hazing forced Luke, and many others to do things nobody should ever be forced to do. We demand that Theta Chi be investigated, shut down and the fraternity’s president, as well as pledge masters and others with power in the fraternity, be investigated for their involvement with the death of Luke Tyler.”
