Va. Tech Student Samanata Shrestha Murdered; Friend Charged in Death, Police Say

Victim was a senior from Vienna, Va.

A friend of 21-year-old Virginia Tech student Samantha Shrestha has been charged in her death. 

Shrestha, a senior, had attended James Madison High School in Vienna, Va.

Police say she and 22-year-old Jessica Michelle Ewing got into a fight last Friday at an off-campus apartment. Details surrounding her death have not yet been released.

According to cell phone records obtained by Collegiate Times, Ewing called numerous people Friday night, saying she had "done something terrible." She called her ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Keifer Kyle Brown, to help her.

Brown is accused of helping Ewing move Shrestha's body into her black Mercedes Benz, which was found Monday morning on a rural Blacksburg road.

Brown -- who graduated from Virginia Tech last year -- was charged Tuesday with accessory after the fact. Ewing has been charged with murder.

Shrestha was a biological science major, with minors in psychology and medicine and society, the university said Tuesday in a posting on its website.

"Those who knew Samanata Shrestha... confirm her zest for school and love of Virginia Tech. One teacher described her as a 'faculty member's dream' because of her exceptional scholarship, love of learning, and 'she always had a smile'," President Charles Steger wrote in part in a letter to the Virginia Tech community. ..."That an inspiring young woman would lose her life to violent crime hurts beyond belief."

The university provided a list of counseling services available for the community.

The Virginia Tech community will remember Shrestha with a candlelight vigil Thursday evening.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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