A 21-year-old University of Mississippi student was found dead near Oxford over the weekend, and an arrest has been made on July 22.
Alexandria “Ally” Kostial’s body was found by deputies on routine patrol near Sardis Lake, about 10 miles from the university in northern Mississippi, on Saturday morning, KMOV reported.
The Oxford Eagle reports that 22-year-old Brandon Theesfeld was booked into Lafayette County Detention Center with a murder charge on Monday.
BREAKING: 22-year-old Brandon Theesfeld charged in connection with the death of @OleMissRebels student and St. Louis native, Ally Kostial. Sources say she was shot 8 times @KMOV pic.twitter.com/quTlJpaXmY
— Emma Hogg (@EmmaHoggTV) July 23, 2019
Brandon Theesfeld, a 22-year-old University of Mississippi student from Texas, has been arrested in connection to the shooting death of fellow Ole Miss student Ally Kostial: https://t.co/mj67WcrxpT pic.twitter.com/prhxSjTOtY
— Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) July 23, 2019
Investigators say Kostial may have been a victim of foul play, and her cause of death has not yet been determined, according to WMC.
The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death. Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Capt. John Poulos confirmed to CNN in an email that they are assisting with the investigation, and referred any additional questions about the case to that department.
The Layfayette Co. Sheriff’s Office confirms the arrest of Brandon Theesfeld for the murder of Ally Kostial. #wmc5 pic.twitter.com/34nAoDF8Bf
— Jessica Holley (@Jessica_Holley) July 23, 2019
The University of Mississippi Police Department and Oxford Police Department are also assisting in the case, according to WMC.
Authorities say they’re following multiple leads trying to determine how Kostial ended up near the lake, WMC reported.
Kostial was working toward a bachelor’s degree in marketing in the university’s School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks said in a statement.
“Ally was a valued member of our campus community,” Sparks said. “We extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends, and classmates and stand ready to support them during this time.”
Anna Pasco, one of Kostial’s friends, told WMC she was shocked.
“She quite possibly was the nicest human being that I’ve ever met,” Pasco told the affiliate. “It’s just hard for me because all I can think about when I see her face is what she went through, what she was thinking, what she was saying. It’s hard.”
Missing Pregnant Mississipi Woman Found Dead
In a similar story, another 21-year-old Mississippi woman, nine months pregnant, was found dead in Mississipi early this month, just a few days before she was due to give birth.
Makayla Winston was found dead in Holmes County on July 1, about three days after she was reported missing, reported WLBT.
The report said Winston was nine months pregnant.
Officials suspect foul play in the case, WCSC reported, which added that she was due to give birth on July 4.
Investigators said there might have been a white vehicle parked behind the woman’s car at one point, but details are not clear.
“Kind of like an SUV. But no one knows who was driving the SUV,” March told the station. “The cellphone was cleaned up so we’re also doing an investigation on the cellular phone, trying to find out what was erased,” added the sheriff.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has interviewed several people about her disappearance, according to People magazine.
Before she was found dead, “I just want my baby home,” Yvetty Brown, her mother, was quoted as saying by WBLT.
“Let my baby go,” she told WJTV. “Let her come home and enjoy her first child because we love her… and we’re going to take care of the baby no matter what. So I just want my baby to come home.”
“She was a quiet person. She didn’t hang out. Mostly, she was around family,” added Brown to WCSC.
The CNN Wire, Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
