Bizarre moment Purdue University dorm murder suspect says ‘I love my family’ when asked why he ‘stabbed his roommate to death during an unprovoked attack’
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A man, 22, charged with the murder of his University dorm roommate – who died after ‘multiple sharp force traumatic injuries during an unprovoked attack’ – has sent his love to his family before entering jail.
Video footage of Ji Min Sha shows the suspected killer being escorted by police into Tippecanoe County Jail, wearing a face mask with his hand firmly handcuffed behind his back (pictured). When asked by a reporter why he’d allegedly committed the crime, Sha simply replied, ‘I love my family’ before walking into custody.
The 22-year-old (pictured) is charged with the murder of Purdue University student Varun Manish Chheda, 20, who was found dead just after midnight at McCutcheon Hall, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office. Residents at the hall said they were woken up in the middle of the night by a ‘scream or some loud noises’.
Sha made a call to campus police at 12:44 am, Tim Doty, Purdue’s director of media and public relations, told the Indianapolis Star. Sha, who went by ‘Jimmy,’ was subsequently taken into custody minutes after police arrived at the first-floor residence.
Wiete said there was no threat to campus once Sha was apprehended.
Chheda (pictured), who graduated from Indianapolis’ private Park Tudor School, was 10 days shy of his 21st birthday. ‘The entire Park Tudor community is incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Varun Chheda, Park Tudor class of 2020,’ said Dennis Bisgaard, Interim Head of Park Tudor School in a statement. ‘Our prayers are with his family at this difficult time.’
According to a Facebook post, Chheda was a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program in 2020. He was a senior in data science at Purdue, Wiete said. Pictured: Chheda as a child.
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Sha was identified as a junior studying cybersecurity who attended the school as an international student from South Korea. Not a lot more is known about Sha (pictured) or his motive for the alleged crime.
‘You know he was just the best guy you ever wanted to hang out with,’ Andrew Wu, a close friend of Chheda (pictured) told Fox59. ‘It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to do this to him.’
Eight students were removed from the floor as police investigated, but it’s believed they were allowed back to their rooms by the end of the day. The last homicide on the school’s campus was in January 2014, when Cody Cousins, a teaching assistant in computer engineering, was sentenced for the murder of Andrew Boldt, a student in electrical engineering. Pictured: Letters and flowers for Chheda were placed by a statue at Purdue’s University campus after his death.
Cousins, then 24, entered the school’s Electrical Engineering Building with a gun and knife before shooting and stabbing then-21-year-old Boldt. Cousins told police he had no motive in the crime. ‘Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends and anybody who knew him and anybody he may have touched in his life,’ Wiete (pictured) said. ‘This is extremely sad and unfortunate for us today and I can’t even imagine what his family is going through at this time.’
In an email sent to students, university president Mitchell Daniels said school staff is prioritizing student safety. ‘This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event,’ he wrote. Letters and flowers for Chheda were placed by a statue at Purdue’s University campus after his death (pictured).
One letter said: ‘You have touched the lives of so many people at Purdue. Your death has an impact on all of us.’ Not all people sending their love were known to Chheda, another read: ‘I didn’t know you personally but my heart goes out to you and your family. All of Purdue misses you and I wish the utmost blessings for you and your family.’
A candlelight vigil was also held at the campus to honor Chheda.
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