Boyfriend Pleads Not Guilty in College Dorm Murder

Clayton Whittemore pleaded not guilty today to killing his girlfriend, 18-year-old Alexandra Kogut, in her college dorm room last month, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports. Whittemore, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder in Kogut's death. He previously told police that he "just snapped" in Kogut's room after an argument on Sept. 29, and started punching her. He's accused of also using a curling iron to beat her to death.

Whittemore told a sheriff's deputy that, while he was visiting his girlfriend of two years for the weekend, they went drinking at a friend's house and Kogut was rude to him. Then, while walking back to her room, Whittemore got an open alcohol container citation. In the room, Kogut started pushing him as they argued, Whittemore claimed. Her relatives attended his hearing today, many of them wearing purple for domestic violence awareness.