iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The Purdue University student, Ji Min Sha[Above photo], who is suspected of stabbing his roommate, Varun Chheda, to death appeared to be regretful of the attack. Sha who made his first public appearance before a court on Friday, September 7, had a brief interaction with reporters.
When asked if he had a message for the victim’s family, Sha said: “I’m very sorry”. He also claimed that he was being blackmailed but did not clarify further what he meant by that. The police are yet to ascertain what was the reason behind the “unprovoked” attack on Chheda.
The court granted a continuance to Sha as formal charges are being filed against him. The accused is now due back in court next Thursday. The 22-year-old student, Sha, is accused of killing his roommate, Varun, a 20-year-old Purdue University data science student on Wednesday, October 5, with “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries” at a university residence hall. The university campus held a vigil on Wednesday night for Chheda. This was the first homicide to occur on Purdue’s campus since 2014.
“Chheda, a senior majoring in data science from Indianapolis, was found dead in his room at McCutcheon Hall. His roommate, 22-year-old Ji Min Sha, is in custody on a preliminary charge of murder. Sha is a junior majoring in cyber security and is an international student from Seoul, South Korea,” Lesley Weite, the Purdue University Chief of Police told ABC7 News.
In the room located on the first floor of McCutcheon Hall, the police found Chheda in a chair with multiple stab wounds and lacerations on his head and neck. “There was blood spatter on the wall, a pool of blood on the floor, and a folding knife on the floor,” said NBC News quoting the affidavit filed by the police in this regard.
Wiete added that Sha, who goes by the nickname “Jimmy,” called police at around 12:45 a.m. “alerting us to the death of his roommate” in their first-floor dorm room on the campus in West Lafayette, which is about 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis or two hours southeast of Chicago.
“Sha has not been formally charged. Investigators don’t know why Chheda was killed, but they think he was awake at the time. We had him very quickly,” Weite said. The university said that an investigation is underway, and there is no threat to the community. Weite added that no other roommates lived with the victim and suspect.
The police’s affidavit also revealed that Shah, when taken into custody, had what appeared to be blood on his body and clothing. “Sha said the knife on the floor was his and admitted he used the knife to kill Chheda while he was sitting in the chair where police found him,” NBC News said quoting the affidavit. “Sha said after he killed Chheda he called 911 and remained in the room until the officers arrived and arrested him.” The affidavit however did not specify the reason behind the attack.
The Tippecanoe County Coroner, Carrie Costello, said that an autopsy had confirmed that Chheda had died of “multiple sharp-force traumatic injuries” and the manner of death is homicide. “I believe this was unprovoked and senseless,” Weite said. “Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends. I can’t even imagine what his family is going through.”
On the day of the incident, the president of Purdue University, Mitch Daniels, wrote a letter to the students “on tragedy in residence hall”: “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. 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.”
“As is always the case, staff from our Office of the Dean of Students, our Residence Halls, and clinicians at Purdue’s Counseling and Psychological Services are providing support and are available to anyone who needs or wants their care. 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,” he added.
