UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO HOMICIDE

Grand jury does not indict student in fatal stabbing

Josiah Galat, 20, died of stab wounds he suffered in the Dec. 19 altercation.

Josiah Galat, 20, died of stab wounds he suffered in the Dec. 19 altercation.

A University of Toledo engineering student who was involved in the on-campus fatal stabbing of Josiah Galat in December will not face charges, according to a decision of the Lucas County grand jury.

The panel heard evidence in the case, but did not indict Erik Littleton on the charge of voluntary manslaughter, said Rob Miller, chief of the Lucas County Prosecutor’s special units division.

Investigators said Mr. Galat and Mr. Littleton, who were living together in the Horton International House during the college's winter break, had a synthetic hallucinogenic drug known as 25i in their systems.

The two apparently had fought in the residence halls’ stairway after ingesting the drug and were under the influence of the drug, said UT Police Chief Jeff Newton. The case was presented to the grand jury last month.

The drug 25i, similar to LSD, is known to produce episodes of hallucinations and paranoia.

“The bottom line is that there there is still some unknowns of what happened in that stairwell, and those are the challenges of getting an indictment,” Chief Newton said.

Mr. Galat, 20, of Mansfield, Ohio, died of stab wounds he suffered in the Dec. 19 altercation on the dormitory stairwell between the second and third floor landings. He was stabbed twice in the neck. His death was ruled a homicide.

Mr. Littleton, 20, of Detroit, who suffered nine wounds, was critically injured but survived.

Chief Newton said a third man, Alexander Vogel, also took the drug with Mr. Littleton and Mr. Galat, but was not involved in the stabbing. Mr. Vogel, who was not a student, was found by police in a room in the residence hall and was naked and agitated.

He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. He was charged with disorderly conduct in Toledo Municipal Court, but the case was subsequently dismissed, Chief Newton said.

The police chief said the investigation into the incident is still ongoing and that other charges could be pursued.