At the intersection of trauma, memory, and institutional accountability, a former Cornell student's allegation of drugging and gang rape by seven fraternity members has been reopened by prosecutors after new digital evidence emerged. Snapchat messages exchanged in the early morning hours of the alleged assault suggest a troubling awareness among fraternity members of a woman's presence and perceived availability. The case asks an enduring question: how do systems of justice reckon with the fractured testimony of those most harmed by the events they are asked to recount?
DA Reopens Cornell Gang Rape Investigation as CBS Obtains Fraternity Snapchat Evidence
A Cornell student alleges she was drugged and gang raped by seven fraternity members, experiencing trauma severe enough to affect her ability to provide consistent statements.
She's barely hanging on for what these guys did to her.
Mark
So the DA is reopening this because the victim's first statement to police said the sex was consensual, but her lawsuit says she was gang raped. That's a real contradiction. How does that get explained?
Mimi
Her attorney says she was traumatized and in survival mode when she first talked to police. He's arguing the original investigation was sloppy—they didn't follow up on the Snapchat messages, didn't dig deep enough. Now there's a chance to present the full picture to a grand jury.
Luke
But we should be clear: we don't know what Jane Doe will say when she testifies. We don't know what the grand jury will conclude. The defense has a hair follicle test showing no ketamine in one defendant's system, which is objective evidence pointing one direction. The Snapchat messages are suggestive but not conclusive about what happened in that room.
Mark
The messages do seem damning though—"Shop still open?" at 1:42 a.m., talking about a woman being available for sex.
Mimi
They're certainly relevant. They show the men were discussing her sexual availability that night. Whether that proves she was drugged and assaulted is what the grand jury has to decide.
Luke
Right. And the defense will argue those messages don't prove anything about consent or what actually occurred. The real question is whether the new evidence and her testimony will be enough to convince a grand jury to indict, when the DA's own office initially decided not to prosecute.
Mark
Why would she have told police it was consensual if it wasn't?
Mimi
Trauma does strange things. Her attorney says she was barely functional, in self-preservation mode. Sometimes victims minimize or misrepresent what happened to them in the immediate aftermath.
Luke
That's plausible. But it's also the kind of thing a defense attorney will hammer on. They'll say if she told police it was consensual, how can we trust the lawsuit version? The grand jury has to weigh that.
Mark
So this isn't over.
Mimi
Not at all. This is a real second chance for the case to be examined.
El Pulso
- Newly obtained Snapchat messages — including 'Shop still open?' sent at 1:42 a.m. — place fraternity members in direct digital conversation about a woman inside their house during the alleged assault.
- A critical contradiction has stalled justice: Jane Doe's initial November 2024 police statement described the night as voluntary, while her civil lawsuit alleges she was drugged without her knowledge and gang raped by all seven defendants.
- Defense attorneys are pushing back hard — one points to a negative ketamine hair follicle test, another insists his client saw the woman fully clothed and left within minutes, and both warn that accusations alone are not evidence.
- Jane Doe's attorney argues the original investigation was incomplete, that key digital evidence was never pursued, and that his client's inconsistency reflects trauma and self-preservation rather than dishonesty.
- Cornell's own Title IX process has already resulted in undisclosed sanctions against the defendants, while a grand jury now prepares to weigh the new evidence and hear updated testimony.
At the intersection of trauma, memory, and institutional accountability, a former Cornell student's allegation of drugging and gang rape by seven fraternity members has been reopened by prosecutors after new digital evidence emerged. Snapchat messages exchanged in the early morning hours of the alleged assault suggest a troubling awareness among fraternity members of a woman's presence and perceived availability. The case asks an enduring question: how do systems of justice reckon with the fractured testimony of those most harmed by the events they are asked to recount?
A former Cornell University student alleges she was drugged and gang raped inside the Chi Phi fraternity house, and a case that had stalled is now being reopened — driven by digital evidence that prosecutors and the public are only now seeing.
CBS News obtained video of group Snapchat messages exchanged by fraternity members on the night in question. At 1:42 a.m., one message implied a woman was sexually available; a follow-up exchange read 'Shop still open?' with the reply 'Yea.' The woman — identified in legal filings as Jane Doe — was inside the house at the time. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has noted that despite a civil lawsuit naming seven men, none have faced arrest or criminal charges.
The reopening was triggered by a significant discrepancy. In her initial statement to police in November 2024, Jane Doe described her drug use and sexual activity that night as voluntary. Her subsequent civil lawsuit tells a different story — that she was drugged without her knowledge and gang raped by all seven defendants. Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten acknowledged the gap directly, noting her original sworn statement contained no allegation of non-consensual drugging or rape. A senior sex crimes prosecutor is now preparing the matter for a grand jury.
The defense has responded forcefully. Attorney Jeremy Saland, representing defendant Scott Kretzschmar, cited a hair follicle test showing no ketamine — significant because the lawsuit alleges Kretzschmar administered the drug. Saland says his client briefly entered the room, saw the woman clothed and undistressed, and left. Another defense attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, issued a statement on behalf of his client Gillio Lopes stressing that 'accusations are not proof.'
Giuffra argues the original investigation was inadequate — that the group chat messages now in CBS News's possession were never properly pursued. He describes Jane Doe as deeply traumatized and in 'self preservation mode,' offering that framing as the explanation for the inconsistency between her statements. 'She's barely hanging on,' he said.
Cornell University has expressed support for the DA's decision to reopen the investigation and confirmed that its own Title IX process concluded with sanctions against the defendants — though the nature of those sanctions has not been disclosed. The case now moves toward a grand jury, where new evidence and updated testimony will be weighed against a defense that remains, in its own words, 'overwhelmingly confident.'
A former Cornell University student alleges she was drugged and gang raped inside the Chi Phi fraternity house. Now, newly obtained evidence is forcing a second look at the case.
CBS News New York has obtained video of group Snapchat messages exchanged by fraternity members on the night of the alleged assault. At 1:42 a.m., one message suggested a woman was available for sex. A later exchange included the phrase "Shop still open?" with a response of "Yea." The messages were sent while the woman, identified in legal filings as Jane Doe, was inside the house. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has emphasized a stark fact: none of the seven men named in the civil lawsuit have been arrested or criminally charged.
The discrepancy that triggered the DA's decision to reopen the case is significant. When Jane Doe gave her initial statement to police in November 2024, she described her involvement with drugs and sexual activity as voluntary and consensual. That account differs materially from the civil lawsuit she later filed, which alleges she was drugged without her knowledge and gang raped by all seven defendants. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated that her original sworn statement "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped." The reopening allows for new evidence and her updated testimony to be presented to a grand jury, with a senior prosecutor experienced in sex crimes cases preparing the matter.
The defense has mounted a vigorous response. Jeremy Saland, representing Scott Kretzschmar, one of the seven named defendants, pointed to a hair follicle test showing no ketamine in his client's system. The lawsuit specifically alleges that Kretzschmar poured ketamine onto Jane Doe's body and snorted it. Saland told CBS News that his client entered the room for only a few minutes, saw the woman fully clothed, observed no signs of duress, and left. Andrew Miltenberg, representing another defendant, Gillio Lopes, issued a statement emphasizing that "accusations are not proof" and that his client "unequivocally denies the allegations." Saland said the defense is "overwhelmingly confident" the case will again result in no charges.
Giuffra counters that the original police investigation was incomplete. He argues that investigators failed to adequately pursue leads, including the fraternity's group chat messages now in CBS News's possession. He also describes Jane Doe as traumatized and operating in "self preservation mode," which he suggests explains the gap between her initial statement and her later lawsuit. The attorney stated plainly: "She's barely hanging on for what these guys did to her."
Cornell University has said it supports the district attorney's decision to reopen the criminal investigation. The university also noted that its own Title IX process, which concluded months ago, resulted in sanctions against the defendants. What those sanctions entailed has not been disclosed. The case now moves toward a grand jury proceeding where the new Snapchat evidence and Jane Doe's testimony will be heard alongside the defense's challenges to the investigation's scope and the consistency of her account.
Citas Notables
Not one of these guys was arrested. Not one. That I can tell you for a fact.— Thomas Giuffra, attorney for Jane Doe
Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.— Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten
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