Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Via AP news wire

Ex-Virginia Tech player pleads not guilty in beating death

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A former Virginia Tech football player accused of fatally beating a man he met on an online dating site and had initially believed to be a woman pleaded not guilty Thursday to a second-degree murder charge, authorities said.

The arraignment of former linebacker Isimemen David Etute was held ahead of a trial scheduled to start May 25 in Montgomery County Circuit Court, The Roanoke Times reported.

Etute is accused in the death of Jerry Smith, 40 in May 2021. Etute said he visited Smith’s apartment that April after he was matched with someone named “Angie” on Tinder, and returned on May 31 to determine whether his match was male or female, attorneys and witnesses said at earlier hearings.

A detective testified that Etute groped Smith and used his phone’s flashlight to get a better look in the dark apartment before repeatedly punching the victim, according to court records. The medical examiner’s office revealed that Smith died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Etute was released on $75,000 last June and has been under house arrest and electronic monitoring while living with his family in Virginia Beach. He was suspended from the university and the football team during the investigation.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.