Ji Min Sha, the Purdue student accused of murdering his roommate, appeared in court Friday in West Lafayette, Indiana. (WTHR)
A Purdue University student charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of his roommate earlier this week asserted he was "blackmailed" as he addressed reporters while walking to an initial court hearing Friday.
Ji Min Sha, 22, a cybersecurity major from Seoul, South Korea, was arrested on a preliminary murder charge in the killing of 20-year-old Varun Manish Chheda, who was from Indianapolis and studying data science, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete previously said.
Wiete said the department received a 911 call just before 1 a.m. Wednesday from Sha "alerting us to the death of his roommate" in McCutcheon Hall. The department responded within minutes and took Sha into custody "immediately," she said. Upon officers' arrival, the 22-year-old informed police he had just killed his roommate with a knife, WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, reported, citing court documents. Sha was found in the room by responding officers with blood on his clothing and body, the documents stated.
Officers found Chheda dead in a chair, and a folding knife was discovered on the floor, prosecutors said. A preliminary autopsy determined Chheda's cause of death was multiple sharp force traumatic injuries to his head and neck.
Wiete, the police chief, has called the crime "unprovoked" and "senseless." A motive remains under investigation.
As he was escorted to a court hearing Friday, Sha told reporters he was "blackmailed" when asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
Another journalist asked, "Do you have anything to say to the victim's family," to which Sha replied, "I'm very sorry."
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Sha will face formal charges Oct. 13 after a judge granted a continuance at Friday's initial hearing. He will remain in custody without bond until the hearing takes place.
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