Two Virginia Tech students accused in the death of a 13-year-old girl have made their first appearances in a courtroom. Blacksburg police Lt. Mike Albert, right, listens as Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson speaks during a news conference Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, in Blacksburg Va. Virginia Tech student, David Eisenhauer, has…
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Blacksburg police have said Eisenhauer and Lovell became acquainted before her disappearance.
The principals at the Maryland high schools describe the former students as involved in extracurricular activities and focused on academics.
Keepers, a sophomore general engineering student at Virginia Tech, graduated from Hammond High School, Howard County schools spokesman John White confirmed.
Even when she didn’t go to school, bullies kept harassing her online, Weeks said.
Eisenhower, 18, is charged with first-degree murder.
Both Eisenhauer and Keepers, who came to Virginia Tech from nearby cities in Maryland, were being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail. A message left at Keepers’ home in Laurel, Maryland, was not returned. The university is also reaching out to our campus community and the greater New River Valley community who may be affected by the events that have occurred over the past several days.
Eisenhauer, a freshman engineering student and member of the cross country team at Virginia Tech, has been charged with abduction and murder.
Keepers interned at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, led science experiments at her church’s Bible school and hoped to build a future in aerospace or ocean engineering, her online resume said.
Nicole’s mother said she was heartbroken that he girl who had endured such hardship would end up being preyed upon by the suspect. “She didn’t like going to school, because she was bullied”.
Their appearance Monday was in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Eisenhauer was appointed lawyer Chris Tuck. He is charged with first-degree murder and abduction in the death of 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell. Cameras, not allowed inside, would have captured Keepers in her orange jumpsuit and shackles telling the judge – barely above a whisper – she understood the charges against her and hired her own attorney. She is charged with improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact. Their next hearing date is March 28th at 1pm for a preliminary hearing in Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court. Neither has entered a plea. “They’re very social media savvy now”.
“She was a typical student”, Weeks told the Post.
Earlier in the investigation, police had stressed urgency in the search for Nicole, saying that she “requires prescription medication daily for a previous liver transplant and is without the medication”. She survived a liver transplant, MRSA (a drug-resistant staph infection) and lymphoma when she was 5, Weeks said. There are no details in charging documents about the crime or how Eisenhauer knew the girl.
Police say Lovell’s remains will be sent to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke, Virginia for an autopsy. They believe Natalie Keepers helped Eisenhauer move Nicole’s body after police say Eisenhauer killed her.
Lovell’s family said she disappeared after pushing a dresser in front of her bedroom door and climbing out a window.
It has emerged that 13-year-old Lovell met Eisenhauer on a dating website for teens.
“That’s all I know”, she told The Washington Post Sunday. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller would not say what officials were trying to find. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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