Autopsy: College student died of exposure, had been drinking

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Police in Vermont say a 19-year-old University of Vermont student found dead in a parking lot in sub-zero temperatures had attended two off-campus fraternity events and had been drinking.

Police say Connor Gage, of Little Falls, New York, was found dead Saturday behind a Burlington business. Preliminary conclusions of an autopsy find that his death was the result of exposure to the cold, “exacerbated by acute intoxication.”

Burlington Deputy Police Chief Jon Murad said Gage left the second off-campus event at about 12:45 a.m. Saturday. About 20 minutes later, he was seen on a surveillance camera in the area where he was found. He was alone, inadequately dressed, and “moving in ways consistent with intoxication and/or hypothermia.”

The university has suspended all fraternity activities in the wake of Gage’s death.