A man has been charged for the death of a 19-year-old Indian American student who attended the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Donald Thurman, who is not associated with the university, was arrested on Sunday near the Blue line train station at Halsted and Harrison streets.
He was formally charged on Monday with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault for the death of Ruth George, according to Huffington Post.
George, a sophomore and kinesiology major, was found dead in the backseat of her family’s vehicle at the Halsted Street Parking Garage on Saturday, the same day her family filed the report to the University Police. Her family had not heard anything from her since Friday.
The University Police asked for the assistance of the FBI Evidence Response Team in processing the crime scene and completing the forensics on the vehicle.
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In the security footage retrieved by the police, George was spotted entering the garage at approximately 1:35 a.m. and was being followed by the suspect. Thurman was then spotted at 2:10 a.m. walking on Halsted Street.
They reviewed video footage to determine Thurman’s travel pattern. In their observation, authorities watched the Blue line station during the times when the suspect usually travels.
After his arrest, Thurman confessed to the crime and revealed the gruesome details of George’s murder.
“The defendant was angry that he was being ignored,” Cook County Asst. State’s Attorney James Murphy said, according to ABC7 Chicago. “The defendant came up behind the victim, grabbed her around the neck from behind, and put her into a chokehold.”
“With his arms still wrapped around the victim’s neck the defendant dragged the victim from the ground and he opened her back seat car door.”
Dozens of people gathered at the place where George was killed on Monday night. Yellow ribbons were also hung around campus in memory of the student.
“The ribbon is, the color is her favorite color,” Cynthia Martinez, a UIC student, said. “They just asked if we could tie them somewhere on campus, in her memory.“
Thurman is reportedly on parole for armed robbery and is serving two years of a six-year sentence.
Feature Image Screenshot via CBS Chicago (Left), @ruth.george.3551 (Right)
