The suspect accused of killing 20-year-old Purdue University student Varun Manish Chheda said “I love my family” before entering jail on Wednesday after being charged with murder.
Ji Min Sha, 22, was identified as the suspect and made a 911 call at 12:44 a.m. on Wednesday regarding the incident at McCutcheon Hall, according to university officials.
Carrie Costello, the Tippecanoe County coroner, said in a statement that Chheda was killed by “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries,” and said that the manner of death is homicide.
When asked by reporters why he allegedly murdered Chheda, Sha responded “I love my family.”
The suspect accused of killing 20-year-old Purdue University student Varun Manish Chheda said “I love my family” before entering jail on Wednesday after being charged with murder.
(FOX 59)
During a press conference, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete said the incident was “unprovoked and senseless.”
“This is extremely sad and unfortunate for us today, and I can’t even imagine what his family’s going through at this time,” Wiete said.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said that Chheda’s death impacts the community “deeply.”
Photo of McCutcheon Hall on Purdue University campus, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in West Lafayette, Ind.
(Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK)
“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.”
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Chheda was studying at Purdue’s College of Science, according to a campus directory. Sha is studying at the Purdue University Polytechnic Institute.
Ji Min Sha (L) and Varun Manish Chheda (R). Chheda, 20, was found dead in McCutcheon Hall on Wednesday morning, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office. Ji Min Sha, 22, was identified as the suspect by Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete during a press conference.
(Tippecanoe County and Sycamore School)
Purdue University student Ian Conley, who also lives in McCutcheon Hall, told Fox News Digital that he found out about the incident when he woke up.
“It was honestly just surreal. And I think it’s still taking time to sink in. I mean, I woke up to my friends sending me news articles and people texting me, making sure I was okay,” Conley said. “And it’s just, it’s one of those situations that you don’t really expect to happen this close to you. And it’s still taking time to sink in for me, I think.”
Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete addresses the media during a press conference following the murder of Purdue student Varun Manish Chheda, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, at McCutcheon Hall in West Lafayette, Ind.
(Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Lev Working, a Purdue student, told Fox News Digital that he also lives in McCutcheon Hall and is on the floor where the incident happened.
“I saw the email, and as I was getting ready to go to my morning class, I walked out into the hall and I saw at the far end there was a blue tarp or some kind of barrier with a cop in front of it. And that’s when it clicked that this happened right near me,” Working said. “I was in a bit of shock.”
“And my first reaction was there was a murder just down the hall from me. But after that, I started feeling pretty rattled, pretty scared, but then sorrowful,” he added.
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A student walks through the Purdue Mall on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
(Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Chheda graduated from Park Tudor School in 2020.
The Interim Head of Park Tudor School, Dennis Bisgaard, told Fox News Digital that its community is “incredibly saddened” by Chheda’s death.
“The entire Park Tudor community is incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Varun Chheda, Park Tudor class of 2020,” Bisgaard said. “Our prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”
