This week, fall classes commence at Clemson University, and with the new year comes a new wave of freshmen introduced into the Greek system. At Clemson, mandatory orientation for those looking to rush is on August 22, a date that marks just over 11 months since one pledge, Tucker Hipps, was found dead in a lake near campus.

In that time, there has been no movement on the criminal case regarding his death. Police have made no arrests, nor have they given an official account of why they believe Hipps ended up face down under a bridge after pledges were taken on an early morning run. Instead, the only details that might explain Hipps’ death have come from a civil suit filed by his parents against the school, the fraternity he was hoping to join (Sigma Phi Epsilon), its national chapter, and three brothers (including the son of Delaware representative John Carney) alleged to be intimately involved.

The newest of those accounts is contained in a motion filed last week. According to the new document—which amends the original wrongful death suit filed by the family—Hipps died after being forced, before sunrise, to walk the railing along the bridge from which he fell.

The suit is mostly identical to the original filing (covered here) but includes a second-by-second description of how Hipps’ parents now believe he dropped from the bridge.

The final part of this excerpt—about the frat’s “long tradition” of making pledges jump from bridges—is left over from the first version of the suit, but it seems to imply that Hipps was going to be forced to jump off the bridge after walking along the railing.

Nonetheless, this is perhaps the final piece of the puzzle from the perspective of Hipps’ parents, who, in both this and the original suit, thoroughly refuted the fraternity’s characterization of the events leading up to his death. Where the fraternity said Hipps lagged behind the rest of the group during an early morning pledge run and fell to his death without anybody present, his parents argue that there was a confrontation on the bridge between Hipps and several brothers because he did not provide McDonald’s breakfast for the fraternity.

That first version of the $25 million wrongful death suit provided various new alleged details about Hipps’ death—that Sig Ep brothers were present when he went over the bridge, that they looked for him in the minutes after he fell, that they erased text messages relating to the incident—but was careful to not say exactly how Hipps plunged off the bridge. Specifically, the family left open the possibility that Hipps was pushed or thrown over the bridge during the confrontation, either intentionally or not. The new version instead offers that Hipps slipped, or perhaps was in the process of being pressured to jump from the bridge.

One question that the suit does not seek to answer is why the Hipps family, and not the police, are advancing his case, or at least providing any sort of detail regarding what happened and who exactly might have been involved. When the suit against Clemson, the Sig Ep chapter and national organization, and three brothers was filed in March, local police did not confirm nor deny any of the claims within.

But they were quick to discredit the new witness, who has not been named by anyone. Where the Hipps family and their attorneys evidently feel comfortable enough with the witness’ story to amend their suit, Oconee County Solicitor Chrissy Adams said that police there did not believe the man’s account:

In a statement to CNN and a public statement on her website, Adams downplayed the importance of the witness, saying he “...describes seeing several kids on the bridge as he is going over the bridge ... and one of them was on the railing. He’s not quite sure of the time, or the day.”

Adams goes on to say, “He describes the students as laughing and having a good time,” which would indicate there was no force or hazing involved. He also said the students were wearing orange, when Hipps and the fraternity brothers were wearing dark clothes.

In addition, Adams said, the witness drove on the bridge on his way to a gym at Clemson, but the sheriff’s department said records show he did not go to the gym that day. Adams added, “During the interview with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office this witness appears to be coaching himself on the video when he is alone in the interview room.”

The gulf between Hipps’ parents and those responsible for finding out how and why he died has only widened. His parents have now entered two arguments they say explain Hipps’ death, both of which contain the only real details we’ve heard about the case. The police and the school, meanwhile, don’t seem any closer to holding any person or organization responsible. Now, with the unveiling of this newest witness, the two sides are accusing the other of different sorts of negligence.

In the defense of officials in Oconee County, Hipps’ parents have put forth an evolving version of his death: their first suit appeared to greatly illuminate the circumstances of his death, yet made no mention of Hipps walking along, and then falling off of, a railing. But still, it’s hard not to feel like local police and school administrators have chosen not to act on a great deal of compelling witness testimony, even putting the most recent revelations aside. The dead, after all, don’t get to tell their side of the story.

If you have heard anything about how or why Tucker Hipps died, you can email me at jordan@gawker.com.

Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com.