Killer Sought After Freshman's Body Found in Creek on College Campus

Haruka Weiser suffered 'unthinkable brutality'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2016 3:44 PM CDT
Killer Sought After Freshman's Body Found in Creek on College Campus
Police say this man seen walking a woman's bicycle around the University of Texas campus Sunday night is a person of interest in the murder of freshman Haruka Weiser.   (Austin Police Department)

Austin police are searching for a killer after the body of an 18-year-old University of Texas freshman was found in a creek behind the campus's alumni building, ABC News reports. Haruka Weiser, a theater and dance major from Portland, Ore., was last seen leaving the drama building Sunday night. Her roommate reported her missing Monday, and police found her remains in a creek on campus Tuesday. A medical examiner is calling Weiser's death a homicide, and police say she was assaulted. Specifics of how Weiser was killed haven't been released, but UT president Gregory Fenves says the student suffered "unthinkable brutality." In a statement, Weiser's family remembered her as a "passionate and dedicated dancer and student." "We will forever miss her," the statement reads. "The pain of our sudden and tragic loss is unfathomable."

Police are looking for a person of interest seen in surveillance footage walking a woman's bicycle on campus around the time Weiser was killed, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Numerous students walked by the man while he was hanging around campus, and police are asking for their help in identifying him. Weiser's death is UT's first on-campus homicide in 50 years, according to NBC News. The university has increased safety measures since Tuesday, with late-night shuttles to transport students and an increased number of officers on campus. “As students you expect to be safe,” the Statesman quotes Fenves as saying. “The attack on Haruka is an attack on our entire family.” (More homicide stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X