Two Virginia Tech students have been arrested and charged following the disappearance and murder of 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell, whose body was found in North Carolina on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
Lovell went missing on Wednesday night after pushing a dresser against her bedroom door and climbing out of the window of the apartment she shared with her family, according to CNN. Lovell required regular medication following a liver transplant and had not taken any with her, prompting even more concern from her parents for her return, according to CNN.
Her body was found on Saturday night along a highway in Surry County just past the Virginia border and approximately 90 miles south of Virginia Tech campus, according to USA Today.
David Eisenhauer, an 18-year-old engineering major, was charged on Saturday with murder and felony abduction, with police revealing that he and Lovell knew each other, according to CNN. Police also charged 19-year-old Natalie Keepers, an engineering student who had previously interned with NASA, with improper disposal of a dead body and accessory after the commission of a felony, according to NBC News.
"Based on the evidence collected to date, investigators have determined that Eisenhauer and Nicole were acquainted prior to her disappearance," Blacksburg police said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. "Eisenhauer used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her. Keepers helped Eisenhauer dispose of Nicole's body."
Police did not announce a motive for the murder or reveal how Lovell was killed, according to USA Today. Investigators are currently attempting to analyze the timeline of the young teen's death and disappearance and have asked the public to report any relevant information, according to USA Today.
A spokesperson for Virginia Tech told reporters that it was aiding the authorities "any way it can" and that "the entire Virginia Tech community extends its support to Nicole's family and friends," according to USA Today.
