Friends of the Purdue University student who was killed by his roommate said they had been gaming with the victim when they suddenly heard him screaming.
Varun Manish Chheda, 20, was discovered dead in his room at McCutcheon Hall in West Lafayette after the suspect, Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, 22, called 911 to report the killing early Wednesday.
Indiana police described the crime as an “unprovoked and senseless” murder.
University police have confirmed hat Chheda was online gaming with pals the night he died.
One of the friends, Andrew Wu said, “I was participating in a game with Chheda when I heard screaming through the gaming platform.”
Another friend said, “Varun had been playing and chatting online through Discord late Tuesday, when I also suddenly heard screaming on the call.”
Sinha, who did not take part in the gaming session, was told by others that they heard the harrowing attack and had no idea what was going on.
Campus police Detective Lt. Matt Rosenbarger said, “Sha was a junior from South Korea and majored in cybersecurity. He was not online gaming at the time of the incident.”
Police Chief Lesley Weite said during a press briefing that Sha was quickly taken into custody on a charge of murder.
Chheda, a senior data science major, died of multiple sharp force traumatic injuries and the manner of death was a homicide.
Sha appeared to mutter “I love my family” as authorities took him to jail Wednesday.
