Mother of New Hampshire college student who died in 2021 files lawsuit against fraternity, restaurant

By Imani Fleming

Click here for updates on this story

    DURHAM, New Hampshire (WMUR) — The mother of a college student who died two years ago is now suing a town bar and a University of New Hampshire fraternity.

The attorney representing Vincenzo Lirosi’s mother said bringing this lawsuit forward was emotional for the family, but they’re hoping to get justice for Lirosi after his death in 2021.

The civil lawsuit is naming multiple defendants, including Scorpion’s Bar and Grille in Durham and the Sigma Chi fraternity at UNH.

Lirosi was a sophomore at UNH studying history.

The lawsuit alleges on the night of Lirosi’s death, Scorpion’s served him 17 alcoholic drinks in less than four hours.

Police previously told News 9 that he went to a fraternity party at Sigma Chi, where he allegedly got into a fight, something friends described as “uncharacteristic.”

The lawsuit claims he was beaten up.

“He attended thereafter a party at the Sigma Chi house where we was attacked by multiple brothers, four or five at one point, chased, dragged out of the house, thrown on the ground, punched repeatedly and kicked while he was down,” attorney Leah Cole Durst said.

The lawsuit alleges Lirosi was forced into the woods from the house without a cellphone.

He was reported missing at 3 a.m.

Two days later, Lirosi’s body was found in a marshy area off Coe Drive in Durham about a day and a half later in a small body of water.

At the time, his death was ruled an accident.

“It was a drowning, it was a tragedy,” Durst said. “But all of the different actors that night created the ultimate result where he was essentially killed.”

The fraternity was temporarily suspended while police investigated, according to the dean of students.

The attorney for the Lirosi family said no criminal charges were ever filed, but they want to get this civil lawsuit in front of a jury.

“It can’t be as simple as it was a tragic accident, or it was an accident. In fact, many different people played a role in causing his ultimate demise,” Durst said. “It’s important for a jury to hear and understand how all of these events came together and how each of these people contributed to his ultimate death.”

News 9 has reached out to the bar and grille, the UNH chapter of Sigma Chi and the national organization for the fraternity.

So far, News 9 has not heard back from anyone.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.