Two men accused in the hazing death of a Bowling Green State University student have declined plea offers and no offer was made to a third defendant.

Final pretrials were held Thursday for Jacob Krinn, Troy Henricksen and Daylen Dunson, all accused of causing the death of sophomore Stone Foltz in March 2021.

Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said the state was not approached by Krinn’s defense for negotiations and the state did not make an offer.

Krinn faces the most serious offenses.

(A list of offenses can be found in the accompanying story on a plea agreement reached with co-defendant Canyon Caldwell.)

As for Dunson, the state offered that if he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and 15 misdemeanor charges, including eight for hazing, the charge of tampering with evidence would be amended to attempted tampering with evidence, a lesser felony.

The state would dismiss the charges of obstructing justice and obstructing official business, Dobson said.

“There is no agreement as to the recommendation on sentence,” he said.

“That offer is rejected,” said attorney Steven Bradley, who represents Dunson.

A request was made by Henricksen’s counsel for a plea, and the state’s response was a request he plead guilty to the indictment as filed.

“We will not plead to the indictment,” said Eric Long, who is representing Henricksen.

Their trial is scheduled to start May 16.

Also Thursday, the defense attorneys asked that any implication that Foltz’s death was caused by hazing will be deleted at trial.

The final pretrials and hearings were held in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.

The Lucas County coroner ruled Foltz’s death an accident as the result of a fatal level of alcohol intoxication during a hazing incident. His blood alcohol content was 0.394, according to the report.

“A coroner is trained to identify ethanol poisoning,” said Lucas Trott, attorney for Krinn, but is not trained to determine this is a hazing accident.

Leaving the word “hazing” in the coroner’s report puts prejudice on the defendants, he said.

As a medical professional, the coroner’s ruling carries deference and the jury may overlook instructions to ignore that language, Trott said.

Attorneys for Henricksen and Dunson filed similar arguments.

Bradley said this is an illegal conclusion and creates a danger for the jury to allow the coroner’s opinion to override their own.

“It is up to the jury to decide if hazing was present,” he said.

“The determination that this is a hazing incident … is for the jury to decide,” said Long.

The coroner should be allowed to testify why he came to that conclusion, said Wood County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jim Hoppenjans.

“There is no evidence this coroner is an expert in hazing events,” Long countered.

Kuhlman said the court would withhold a ruling on this issue.

Attorneys also filed a request to not allow reference to Foltz as a victim and to exclude autopsy photos.

Trott asked that the state not use the term victim as it predisposes his client’s guilt as implying a crime has occurred.

If the state uses that language, they are improperly expressing their opinions, he said.

Trott asked that the state refer to those involved by name.

“Simply passing away doesn’t necessarily warrant the term as victim,” Trott said.

Hoppenjans said, per statute, the definition of hazing uses the term victim.

“We can’t rewrite statute no matter how much we dislike the term,” he said.

Kuhlman ruled the state will not refer to Foltz as a victim but denied the request for an order for the state to not use the term victim at trial.

As for the autopsy photos, they show a naked man on a table with no exterior signs of trauma, and since there is no evidence as to the cause of death, they will be prejudicial, Trott said.

The death was an accident, and these photos prove nothing, he said.

“We fear the inclusion of these photos will do nothing but inflame the jury’s passion and (hinder) their ability to determine facts of the case fairly,” he said.

“The defense does not have the (prerogative) to determine how the state presents its case,” Dobson said.

The photos demonstrate there are no wounds or bruises on the body and have value when trying to prove nothing else caused the death other than alcohol, Dobson said.

Kuhlman denied the motion to exclude the photos but said the defense can renew their arguments at trial.

There also is a motion to exclude testimony as to the disciplinary history of Phi Kappa Alpha, disciplinary matters involving the defendants and their criminal history.

All three defendants were members of the fraternity where Foltz allegedly was told to drink a liter of bourbon.

These testimonies are all relevant to the case, said Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Gross.

The fraternity’s history with initiation events is extremely relevant and demonstrates knowledge, planning and intent, she said.

Past disciplinary history of the fraternity and allegations of prior drinking has no bearing as to whether hazing took place in this case, Bradley said.

Discipline came after an administrative hearing by school administrator and is a different standard and is not relevant as to what the jury has to decide, Trott said.

Long said he feared allowing this testimony would turn it into a trial about the fraternity system.

Kuhlman withheld a determination and said the arguments at trial will come down to the relevance of prior bad acts that are not charged in this case.

Debate also was held over allowing expert testimony by the coroner.