In the murder of a 20-year-old Indian-origin student named Varun Manish Chheda, studying at Purdue University, his Korean roommate has confessed to murdering him, apologizing for the crime and claiming he was blackmailed. Ji Min Sha, 22, a junior studying cybersecurity at the University in West Lafayette called 911 at 12:44 a.m. on Wednesday to report that he had killed his roommate with a knife.
According to reports, Ji Min Sha made his first court appearance on Friday before Tippecanoe County Magistrate Sarah Wyatt since being arrested for allegedly stabbing Varun Chheda to death. Without elaborating on the matter, the suspect claimed that he was blackmailed, and apologized to the victims’ family.
Varun Manish Chheda from Indianapolis was found dead in McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of campus, said police on Wednesday. His roommate, a junior cybersecurity major and international student from Korea alerted the police about the death, said the University Police Chief Lesley Wiete at a news conference.
The 20-year-old died of ‘multiple sharp force traumatic injuries’ in a manner of homicide, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Several university students sat in vigil to mourn his death.
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