Roommate in Custody After Purdue University Student Killed in Dorm: Police

Mar. 15, 2025

A 22-year-old Purdue University student who is facing a murder charge in connection with the death of his 20-year-old roommate called authorities to their dorm room soon after Wednesday morning’s fatal incident.

Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete identified the victim as Varun Manish Chheda, a data science major at the renowned West Lafayette, Ind., school.

Wiete would not speculate on a motive while talking to reporters earlier this morning, but did say the suspect — a South Korean national named Ji Min Sha — lived with the victim in a first-floor dorm room in McCutcheon Hall.

The killing happened in their shared dorm room, which is where Purdue University police took Sha into custody.

Students in adjacent rooms were moved to safety.

Varun Manish Chheda.

An autopsy performed on Wednesday revealed that Chheda was stabbed to death,CBS4 Indy reports. He died from “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries,” according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office, per the outlet.

Ji Min Sha.Purdue University Police

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Mitch Daniels, Purdue’s president, released a statement this morning, calling the crime “as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus.”

Counselors are being provided to students who need them.

Daniels' statement notes that “the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus.”

It is unclear if Sha has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.

This is the second homicide on the school’s campus in less than a decade.

On Jan. 14, 2014, Cody Cousins stabbed fellow student Andrew Boldt, 21, to death in Purdue’s Electrical Engineering building,reportsthe Indianapolis Star.

He openly confessed to the killing, pleaded guilty in court and received a 65-year prison sentence.

source: people.com