Arrest Made in Ole Miss Student's Murder

Alexandria 'Ally' Kostial found Saturday north of Sardis Lake
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 23, 2019 9:15 AM CDT
Updated Jul 23, 2019 11:43 AM CDT
Ole Miss Student Dead in Apparent Homicide
Mississippi's Sardis Lake is pictured in 2009.   (Wikimedia/Angelika Lindner)

A 22-year-old Texas man has been arrested in the death of a 21-year-old University of Mississippi student, whose body was found in a secluded area not far from campus. Lafayette County sheriff's deputies were on routine patrol Saturday morning when they discovered the body of Alexandria "Ally" Kostial near the north side of Sardis Lake in Harmontown, some 30 miles from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, WMC reports via Fox News. WLBT reports Brandon Theesfeld was arrested on Monday and charged with murder. "It is apparent that foul play was involved" but "we are not releasing many of the details [as] this is an active investigation," sheriff's officials said in a Monday statement, per ABC News.

WLBT reports what's known of Kostial's last hours: She was captured on surveillance footage Friday night at the entry to a local bar; she didn't go inside, but turned and then left the camera's view. She reportedly went home around midnight, then left once again; her roommates didn't hear her go. Kostial, from St. Louis, Mo., was pursuing a bachelor's degree in marketing within the School of Business Administration. In a Facebook post, her father says she attended summer school and taught fitness classes at the university. "Ally was a valued member of our campus community," Ole Miss Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks says in a statement. "We extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends, and classmates, and stand ready to support them during this time." (More University of Mississippi stories.)

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