Chilling moment Purdue University dorm murder suspect sends love to family before entering jail
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A man, 22, charged with the murder of his dorm roommate – who died after “multiple traumatic injuries with sharp forces during an unprovoked assault” – has sent his love to his family before going to prison.
Video footage from Ji Min Sha shows the suspected killer being escorted by police to the Tippecanoe County Jail, wearing a facemask and handcuffed tightly behind his back.
When asked by a reporter why he allegedly committed the crime, Sha simply replied, “I love my family” before being taken into custody.
The 22-year-old is charged with the murder of Purdue University student Varun Manish Chheda, 20, who was found dead in McCutcheon Hall just after midnight, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office.
Residents of the hall said they were awakened in the middle of the night by a “scream or loud noises.”
Ji Min Sha, 22, accused of murdering his roommate Varun Manish Chheda, 20, sent his love to his family before going to jail
Video footage from Ji Min Sha shows the suspected killer being escorted by police to the Tippecanoe County Jail, wearing a facemask and handcuffed tightly behind his back.
When asked by a reporter why he allegedly committed the crime, Sha simply replied, “I love my family” before being taken into custody.
The 22-year-old is charged with the murder of Purdue University student Varun Manish Chheda, 20, who was found dead in McCutcheon Hall just after midnight
Sha called campus police at 12:44 PM, he was then taken into custody minutes after police arrived at the first-floor residence
Sha called the campus police at 12:44 p.m., Tim Doty, Purdue’s director of media and public relations, told police. Indianapolis Star.
Sha, who went by ‘Jimmy’, was then taken into custody minutes after police arrived at the first-floor residence.
Wiete said there was no threat to the campus after Sha was arrested.
Chheda, who graduated from private Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, was 10 days short of his 21st birthday.
“The entire Park Tudor community is incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Varun Chheda, Park Tudor class of 2020,” Dennis Bisgaard, interim principal of Park Tudor School, said in a statement.
“Our prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”
According to a Facebook afterChheda was a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program in 2020. He was a senior in data science at Purdue, Wiete said.
Sha was identified as a junior studying cybersecurity who attended the school as an international student from South Korea.
Chheda was a senior in data science and was just 10 days before his 21st birthday when he died
The Sycamore School community paid tribute to Chheda and said he attended the school from kindergarten to 8th grade in 2016.
A candlelight vigil was also held on the university campus in honor of Chheda
Not much more is known about Sha or his motive for the alleged crime.
“You know he was just the best guy you ever wanted to hang out with,” Andrew Wu, a close friend of Chheda’s, told me. Fox59.
“It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to do this to him.”
Eight students were taken off the floor while police were investigating, but it is believed they were allowed to return to their rooms at the end of the day.
The last on-campus murder was in January 2014, when Cody Cousins, a computer engineering teaching assistant, was convicted of murdering Andrew Boldt, an electrical engineering student.
Cousins, then 24, entered the school’s Electrical Engineering building with a gun and knife before shooting and stabbing the then 21-year-old Boldt. Cousins told police he had no motive for the crime.
“Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends and everyone who knew him and everyone he touched in his life,” Wiete said.
“This is extremely sad and unfortunate for us today and I can’t even imagine what his family is going through right now.”
Letters and flowers for Chheda were placed at a statue on Purdue’s university campus after his death
One letter said, “You touched the lives of so many people at Purdue. Your death has an impact on all of us’
Another read: ‘I didn’t know you personally, but my heart goes out to you and your family. All of Purdue misses you and my deepest condolences to you and your family.”
In an email to students, university president Mitchell Daniels said school staff is prioritizing student safety.
“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone affected by this terrible event,” he wrote.
Letters and flowers for Chheda were placed near a statue on Purdue’s university campus after his death.
One letter said, “You touched the lives of so many people at Purdue. Your death has an impact on all of us.’
Not all the people who sent their love were known to Chheda, another read: ‘I didn’t know you personally, but my heart goes out to you and your family. All of Purdue misses you and my deepest condolences to you and your family.’
A candlelight vigil was also held on campus in Chheda’s honor.