Father: BU Student Died from Lethal Alcohol Consumption

The father of Anthony Barksdale II told WCVB Channel 5 News that his son died after drinking a lethal amount of alcohol at a Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity party. 

Barksdale II was found unconscious inside an Allston apartment on Wadsworth Street around midnight on Friday, March 1. Anthony Barksdale II died early Saturday morning.

Tony Barksdale received a phone call at 1:21 a.m. from his son’s cellphone, according to Channel 5. A doctor was on the other end, calling to inform Barksdale of his son’s condition.  Barksdale would have turned 19 in April. He was studying aeronautical engineering at Boston University.

Boston University has suspended the Sigma Alpha Mu chapter as a result of Barksdale’s death. The apartment on Wadsworth Street in which he was found had housed a fraternity function that night, school officials said. The university's Dean of Students, Kenneth Elmore, told BU Today the event was unregistered and there may have been underage drinking and severe intoxication.

A celebration of his life will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 9, at Souhegan High School, 412 Boston Post Rd., Amherst.

Tony told Channel 5 that an award his son won at Souhegan High School, The Coaches Award, has been retitled The Tony Barksdale Award. Organizers will hold a service to celebrate his life on Saturday at 9 a.m.