College Fraternity Member Charged With Encouraging Students To Commit Suicide
This grim reaper is killing off his friends!
Facebook Brandon Grossheim was a college student at Truman State University. He was also part of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity. Another getting to know you point about Mr. Grossheim is that he is accused of talking five different men into committing suicide. He is accused of seeking out young depressed men and convincing them to use their own free will to take their depression into their own hands. This has everyone wondering who is Brandon Grossheim?
1. Fraternity days
According to the fraternity's website, "The Xi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda was founded in 1953 at Truman State University. We pride ourselves on emphasizing Judeo-Christian Principles, Leadership, Scholarship, Loyalty, and Self-Support. We are a united brotherhood brought together by the common goal of bettering ourselves and our world." They say it right on the homepage of their website. They are a brotherhood brought together by the common goal of bettering themselves and their world. Brandon Grossheim was not following those principles when he was counseling these young people to take their lives. He was not bettering their world, but was taking it away by convincing them that their life was theirs to take.
2. What did he do?
Brandon Grossheim considers himself a superhero. He called himself the "peacemaker." His fascination with death is said to be what drew him to his victims. He surrounded himself with people who were depressed and "counseled" them, giving them step-by-step instructions on how to "use their own free will" to deal with depression. There were five victims of suicide that were close friends with Grossheim in a matter of months on the Truman State University campus. Four of the deaths were men and three of those men were members of the same fraternity as Grossheim. The fifth suicide was a young woman and it is still being investigated.
Grossheim was found near the deceased students when the bodies were discovered.
3. It gets weirder...
When police interviewed other member of the fraternity, it came out that Grossheim was always one of the last, if not the last person to see each victim alive. He was in some cases the one to find them after they committed suicide. After one of his victim's deaths, he was seen out and about wearing the victim's clothes. He was found with the missing money and drugs belonging to the deceased and he began dating his dead friend's girlfriend.
4. Facebook Tributes
After the passing of Joshua Thomas, Grossheim took to Facebook to pay tribute to his dead "friend." He wrote, "“I love you, bud. I know I told you that a lot, and it made me happy to know that you knew I meant it. We’ve been through a lot, together, and we grew very close. It really upsets me to lose you. I was so glad to be working with you, because it’d give us more time to hang out. I’ll miss you more than you’ll ever know. I hope that you are in a better place, now, and that you’ve found a peace of mind. Again, I love you.”
In a tribute to Alex Mullins he described his friend as, “one of the hardest working men to ever walk into the doors of our house and into our hearts.”
On the birthday of another victim, Jake Allen Hughes, he wrote, “God, I miss you. I promise that I will do my best to make my life as good as both of us deserved combined, and I promise you that you'd have enjoyed/maybe will enjoy watching every minute of it. I love you buddy, and miss you a lot.”
5. Lawsuits against him
The families of two of the victims, Alex Mullins and Joshua Thomas, are suing not only Grossheim, but also Truman State University. They are alleging that Grossheim talked their sons into killing themselves, and the school knew more than they are letting on. It has been confirmed that at least three of the five suicides took place in the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity house. It is the opinion of the families that the school was aware that both boys were depressed and yet they still gave Grossheim full access to them.
The lawsuits are seeking damages for the parents' emotional distress, pain and suffering and economic damages.
Police Chief Jim Hughes said of the case, “In over 39 years in this business, all of which have been in college towns by choice, this series of events is very unusual and concerning at any number of levels."
There is no indication why police have declined to press charges so far. According to Nicole Gorovsky, the whole situation is being swept under the rug, by both the police and the university. “This situation has been swept under the rug,” said Gorovsky. “The university held a short symposium on suicide and the fraternity seemingly shrugged their shoulders and everyone went away quietly. But, no one told the public, parents, or students on campus about the psychological manipulation that had been involved — that a fellow student and fraternity brother was a danger.”
6. Where is he now?
The exact whereabouts of Brandon Grossheim are currently unknown but according to his mother, we do know he is somewhere in Kirksville, Missouri. He said that these deaths have ruined his college career and has sought much counseling in the wake of his friends' deaths. When his mother was asked if he could have done this she said, "God no! No, no."
Kaitlin Kaiser is a writer who writes about love, relationships, self-care, spirituality and astrology.