School officials say that a 20-year-old Purdue University student was found dead in his dorm room early Wednesday morning and that his roommate is in custody.
Senior data science major Varun Manish Chheda was discovered dead in his room at McCutcheon Hall, a residence hall on the campus of the university in West Lafayette, Indiana, after the suspect called 911 to report the incident at 12:44 a.m. local time, Purdue University Chief of Police Lesley Weite said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Gji Min Sha, 22, a junior majoring in cyber security, is being held on a murder charge, according to Weite. He is a Korean international student, she explained.
No other roommates lived with the victim and suspect, Weite said.
“I believe this was unprovoked and senseless,” she said.
“Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends,” she added. “I can’t even imagine what his family is going through.”
Chheda died from “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries,” according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office.
In 2020, Chheda graduated from Park Tudor School in Indianapolis.
A university spokesperson said, “Now that the suspect has been caught, “there is no threat to the community.”
“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event,” Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said in a statement Wednesday morning. “We do not have all the details yet. Our Purdue University Police Department is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident so that we all may learn more about what transpired.”
