A Purdue University student, Varun Manish Chheda, 20, was killed in an on-campus McCutcheon residence hall in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, 22, a junior cybersecurity major and international student from Korea, was arrested on a murder charge Wednesday following the mysterious death of his roommate Varun Manish, an Indianapolis senior pursuing data science.
According to preliminary autopsy findings from Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello, Varun Manish died of “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries.” The final autopsy findings are pending toxicology.
On Wednesday, Ji Min Sha called 911 around 12:45 a.m to report that his roommate was dead, Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete said in a news conference. According to Wiete, police responded to their room in McCutcheon Hall within a few minutes and took Ji Min into custody.
“Sha has been charged with murder,” Wiete said.
“I believe this was unprovoked and senseless,” the police chief said. “And the investigation is ongoing.”
Ji Min Sha was detained in the Tippecanoe County Jail. Jail records show that he’s being held without bonds. It’s also unclear whether Sha has obtained any legal representation.
Chheda’s death is the first homicide on Purdue’s campus in more than eight years. According to a statement by the school, Andrew F. Boldt, 21, of West Bend, Wisconsin, was fatally shot in the basement of the electrical engineering building in January 2014.
Alerts or warnings regarding the killing were not issued because there was no immediate threat to the community.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels addressed Chheda’s death via a message to the community, offering psychological and counseling services.
“As Purdue’s president, but even more so as a parent myself, I assure you that the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus,” Daniels said. “Purdue is an extraordinarily safe place on any given day, and compared with cities of Purdue’s population (approximately 60,000 in all), we experience a tiny fraction of violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere.”
He added, “such statistics are of no consolation on a day like this. A death on our campus and among our Purdue family affects each of us deeply.”