Boyfriend Faked CPR After Killing Student: Officials

Gregorio Orrostieta charged in Pa. freshman Karlie Hall's brutal death
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 10, 2015 12:00 PM CST
Boyfriend Faked CPR After Killing Student: Officials
Gregorio Orrostieta is seen in an undated photo provided by the Lancaster County Prison.   (AP Photo/Lancaster County Prison via PennLive.com)

A 19-year-old has been charged with homicide in the death of his girlfriend, a freshman at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Gregorio Orrostieta, who isn't a student at the school, told police he got in a verbal fight with Karlie Hall, 18, at a party, authorities say. He says she hit him. The fight reportedly resumed back in her dorm room early Sunday, where he is accused of having strangled and beaten her, NBC Philadelphia reports. "Orrostieta admitted to shoving Hall hard enough to knock her onto the ground, where she struck her head on a chair," according to an affidavit. After Orrostieta launched a "back hand" at Hall's face, she lost consciousness, he allegedly told police. He didn't acknowledge any choking, the AP reports.

When investigators found Orrostieta in Hall's room, he was apparently trying to give her CPR. But the Lancaster County district attorney raises doubts: "The CPR I believe was completely fake," he says. Authorities believe Orrostieta had let hours pass before he called 911, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Police say he had blood on his face and hands and his shirt was ripped, the AP notes. "She fought for her life," the DA says. The school, where Hall's twin sister was also a freshman, held a vigil last night. "We've never had this happen. We're a pretty bucolic, rural campus. Very safe," says university president John Anderson. (More students stories.)

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