Questions after Miss. college student falls from New Orleans hotel
Cole Whaley, a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, fell to his death through a closed hotel window at a DoubleTree Hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans, the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office said, CBS affiliate WWL reported.
Whaley fell from an 11th floor room to an outdoor area by the hotel pool on the 4th floor, according to the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office.
The university said in a statement its community is mourning Whaley’s death.
“We are all saddened by this tragedy, and are reaching out to his family, friends and loved ones to offer our prayers and support,” Eddie Holloway, Dean of Students, said.
The university also confirmed that Whaley, a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity from Mobile, Alabama, was in New Orleans when he died early on Saturday, WWL reports.
“Findings from the autopsy performed by my office on Mr. Whaley reveal injuries consistent with reported circumstances including multiple skull fractures and subdural hemorrhage,” said Jeffrey Rouse, the coroner.
The preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma.
The final cause of death is being investigated, pending toxicology test results, CBS Hattiesburg affiliate WHLT reports.
A fraternity member told the Hattiesburg American that Whaley died as a result of a “freak accident” while he was in Louisiana’s largest city for a Pi Kappa Phi-related event.
“Our understanding is that he alone broke out the window and then fell out of it,” said Eighth District Commander Nick Gernon. “He was running into it and at some point he accidentally broke it out and lost his balance and fell out of the window.”
When asked how Whaley came to fall through the window, and if it involved roughhousing, Dawne Massey, a police spokesman, said in an email that police are “still collecting witness statements,” the Associated Press reported.
University sophomore Kyle Cruce, a member of Pi Kappa Phi and a housemante of Whaley, said they became friends after meeting in 2015, during rush week.
“Everyone wanted to be best friends with him because he was so positive and cool,” Cruce said. “That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Cruce said that he and his fraternity brothers gathered on Saturday and Sunday to mourn Whaley’s death.
“We are doing better,” he said. “Saturday we all gathered around our flagpole with our flag at half-staff and just hugged each other. Not much talking. Then (Monday), we had a memorial service at the house. That helped a lot. Just talking about all the great stories about him.”
On Monday, a pair of lion statues sat in front of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house on Fraternity Drive. They were painted Pi Kappa Phi’s official color -- royal blue and gold. In the afternoon, fraternity members came and went solemnly, and some paused to remember Whaley near the statues.
“Cole was a high achieving student who had a passion not only for his fraternity and his fraternity brothers but Southern Miss as well,” Southern Miss Interfraternity Council posted on Facebook.
The post said Cole was a competitive intramural participant and a member of the Honors College. It said he always encouraged his fraternity brothers to succeed in academics.
“We know Cole has influenced many in our community and we are thankful for the time with him and his impact on us,” it said. “Our thoughts and prayers go to his family, his fraternity brothers, his Spanish Fort community and all those affected.”
The University of Southern Mississippi and the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office did not respond to the Hattiesburg American’s requests for further details. Pi Kappa Phi chief executive officer, Mark Timmes, did not respond to request for comment.
