4 charged after dead longhorn placed on fraternity lawn

24 January 2024

PAYNE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Four men are facing charges after a longhorn carcass was found on the lawn of an Oklahoma State University fraternity in December.

Authorities were called to the FarmHouse Fraternity in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on the morning of Dec. 1, 2023, after a dead longhorn was found on the front lawn. An expletive was written on the cow’s side.

According to initial necropsy findings, the longhorn died naturally and before it was placed on the lawn.

Dead Longhorn found on the lawn of OSU Fraternity House (KFOR)

Days later, Stillwater Police served a search warrant at another fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho, after rumors of an “ongoing prank war” between the two fraternities. 


Dead longhorn found on front lawn of OSU fraternity

“The FarmHouse has been very cooperative with us… We do know that AGR does have information about the acquisition and the disposal of the animal corpse, and we’re just waiting on them to provide that information to us,” said Lt. T.J. Low, Stillwater Police PIO, at the time.

Now, 19-year-old Luke Ackerley, 20-year-old Bennet Fady, 19-year-old Andrew King and 19-year-old Brody Shelby have all been arrested and charged with unlawful disposal of a carcass, a misdemeanor.

Mugshots of Brody Shelby (top left), Luke Ackerley (top right), Bennet Fady (bottom left), and Andrew King (bottom right). Images courtesy Payne County Jail.

All four men have bonded out on their own recognizance and will appear in court on March 11.

The four men were all suspended from their fraternity pending full investigations.

“The alleged actions of those charged in this case do not reflect the values of Alpha Gamma Rho,” the fraternity said in a statement. “Our internal investigation is ongoing, and we continue to work with OSU, the Stillwater police department, and other authorities involved in the investigation. Our chapter in Stillwater has cooperated fully with the investigation, and there is no indication the chapter or any other members of the chapter were involved.”

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