AUSTIN, Texas The victim of a suspected homicide found in a creek on the main campus of the University of Texas was identified on Thursday by university officials as Haruka Weiser, a first-year theater and dance student from Oregon.
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“This is a tragic day for every student who walks across our attractive campus and expects to be safe”, UT president Gregory Fenves said.
“Hauruka was a beloved member of our dance community, liked and admired by her classmates and respected by her professors for her intelligence and spirit” he wrote. A cause of death was still being investigated, a University of Texas police department spokesman said.
“The unthinkable brutality against Haruka is an attack on our entire family”, Fenves said.
‘I ask you to join me in expressing our deepest condolences to Haruka’s parents, family, classmates and friends and to help the university honor her life’.
Police discovered the body after fellow students reported a smell coming from Waller Creek, located behind the university’s Etter-Harbin alumni center, according to ABC News. Cavazos said that gives her some peace.
Police near the spot where the body of a possible murder victim was found at the University of Texas at Austin, on Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
‘Trained in ballet, Haruka excelled in all her performance endeavors. “I did know she was a lovely person inside and out”.
The university is offering counseling services to students who want or need to talk about the death.
An Austin police spokeswoman said authorities were not ready to release additional information and the Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
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Fenves earlier told reporters that the campus, which is used by 50,000 students and 14,000 faculty members, will have increased police patrols but otherwise will operate as normal, with regular classes and events.
