Indiana: Purdue University Student Killed by Roommate Who Stabbed Him to Death Inside Campus Dorm

By BERT HOOVER First Posted: Oct 06, 2022 02:51 AM EDT

Police and Purdue University officials in Indiana said a student was charged with murder after his roommate's lifeless body was found in their dorm room early Wednesday.

Authorities said that Varun Manish Chheda, a Purdue University student from Indianapolis, was found dead in his room at McCutcheon residence hall on the west side of the campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. Chheda, 20, was a senior studying data science.

Citing the preliminary autopsy report, the Tippecanoe County Coroner's Office said Chheda's death has been ruled a homicide, and he died from "multiple sharp-force traumatic injuries," which means he was stabbed to death. According to USA Today, a final autopsy was pending toxicology results.

Purdue University Dorm Murder Suspect Called the Indiana Police

In a press conference on Wednesday morning, Purdue University Chief of Police Lesley Wiete said Ji Min Sha, Varun Manish Chheda's roommate, called 911 at 12:44 a.m., alerting the authorities about his roommate's death.

Wiete noted that Sha, a 22-year-old junior majoring in cyber security, was taken into custody later that day. She said the suspect, an international student from South Korea, is facing a murder charge.

"If we did not have the suspect in custody as quickly as we did, we would have absolutely sent out a Purdue alert," Wiete noted, adding that the victim and his murderer have no other roommates, and the campus is now safe from any threat from the suspect.

ABC News reported that the police chief also said both students were awake when the murder happened. Without discussing a motive or details about weapons in the killing, Wiete said: "I believe this was unprovoked and senseless."

"Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends... I can't even imagine what his family is going through," she added.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said the murder "is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus." He also said their hearts and thoughts go to everyone affected by "this terrible event."

Daniels added that they do not have all the details now, but the Purdue University Police Department is already investigating the incident so that they may know more about what happened.

Purdue University in Indiana Grieves

Police said that Varun Manish Chheda's death was the first homicide on the Purdue University campus in more than eight years, NBC News reported. The university website said around 50,000 graduate and undergraduate students are enrolled for the fall semester.

Mitch Daniels said that students are getting counseling and psychological services from dorm staff and school clinicians. Daniels assured everyone that the campus was safe.

"Compared with cities of Purdue's population, we experience a tiny fraction of violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere," Daniels noted. Purdue's population is reportedly around 60,000.

"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," Daniels said.

A video shows university police escorting Sha out of a patrol vehicle in handcuffs. As he was taken inside the Tippecanoe County Jail, a reporter asked the suspect why did he do it. Sha paused a few seconds and twice said, "I love my family."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Purdue University Student Killed In Residence Hall, Roommate Arrested - From NBC News