Varun Chheda: Friends gaming with slain Purdue student, 20, recall victim screaming on Discord call
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA: Senior data science major student Varun Manish Chheda was discovered dead in his room at McCutcheon Hall, a residence hall on the campus of the university in West Lafayette, Indiana, on early Wednesday, October 5. Purdue University Chief of Police Lesley Weite said at a news conference that the suspect himself called 911 to report the incident at 12.44 am local time. More horrific details of this murder have emerged as Chheda's friends have come forward.
Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete and the Tippecanoe County coroner’s explained that Varun Manish Chheda, 20, was a senior from Indianapolis who was studying data science. He is suspected to be killed by Ji Min "Jimmy" Sha who is a junior cybersecurity major and international student from Korea. The Exponent reports that one of Chheda's friends, Arunabh Sinha, explained that Chheda was gaming while on a Discord call Tuesday night. Sinha himself wasn't on call but his friends told him that they heard the attack and screams but didn't know what was happening, only to find out about the death of their friend the next day. Another friend revealed that one of the other participants in the call was a Purdue student and the rest were students at other schools. Ji Min "Jimmy" Sha is being held on a murder accusation. No other of the roommates lived with the victim and suspect.
READ MORE
Bronx couple kills roommate who blasted loud music to drown out their fighting
Who is Jon Selke? Purdue cop choked Adonis Tuggle, 24, with elbow during violent arrest
Chheda's friend revealed that Ji Min "Jimmy" Sha was not on the call or the Discord server. The friend, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the case, said that no one knew who Jimmy was. The Exponent also obtained a screenshot of a Discord chat where the members could be seen discussing and reacting to Chheda's horrific screams. One member wrote, "Those screams were literally the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Do you guys know a Jimmy?" A student in the server said that they eventually removed Chheda from the call as they could not take any more of the screams and wanted to give him privacy. The Tippecanoe County coroner's office confirmed that Chheda was stabbed to death. Coroner Carrie Costello said the cause of Chheda's death was "multiple sharp force traumatic injuries."
Andrew Mayes, a Purdue senior, told CBS4, "I think everybody is still trying to grasp everything that has happened." Mayes stopped by Chheda's memorial to drop a note saying "we’re not going to forget about him, that we love him." As the memorial keeps growing, Mayes said, "I think at the end of the day it shows that we’re all one, we’re all united." Weite told ABC7, "I believe this was unprovoked and senseless. Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends. I can't even imagine what his family is going through. Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said in a statement Wednesday morning, "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. We do not have all the details yet. Our Purdue University Police Department is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident so that we all may learn more about what transpired."