Officials Investigate Student Death
UC Davis – The California Aggie
March 6 – Investigators are still trying to determine if UC Davis student Andrew V. Wieman was murdered or committed suicide.
Wieman was found at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house on Feb. 4. The official cause of death was due to multiple stab wounds to his chest, though he also sustained cuts on his neck and wrists.
UCD police, Yolo County investigators and the California Dept. of Justice working together have found Wieman’s fingerprints on a knife and a note at the scene of the crime.
“It is important to note that the more investigators you bring in, the less you’re going to miss,” Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto stated in a release.
The Wieman family’s hired forensic pathologist Dr. John Cooper believes suicide is not a possibility.
“This is not suicide, could not be suicide and is, in fact, a relatively vicious crime,” he said.
Prieto said more than one investigation is needed to determine the outcome of death.
“For a pathologist to come out and basically state that this has to be a homicide, or this was a homicide, just isn’t appropriate,” he said. “Especially from a pathologist who has not seen all the evidence in front of them.”
“This particular death could fall in that 2 percent where we would be unable to determine the manner of death,” UCD Police Chief Calvin Handy said.
UCSD Student Commemorated in Vigil
UC San Diego – The Guardian
March 5 – UC San Diego student Joshua Eber was found in his crashed car on March 1 after he had been missing since Feb. 26. Eber was driving home to visit his mother who was having surgery when his car went off the road and hit a tree.
Authorities are unsure why Eber’s car crashed, but rainy conditions and medication problems might account for the crash.
Friends gathered on March 1 to commemorate Eber, a senior at Muir College and a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.
“He loved his college, and he loved having fun,” Muir Dean Chips Dreilinger said. “He was a good kid. This is a bad quarter. This is the second student death in a month or so.”
“Josh was a great person and a great friend,” Eber’s roommate Robert Bessler said. “We pray for him and wish his family the best of luck.”
Ex-Tenants Receive Settlement
UC Los Angeles – The Daily Bruin
March 2 – UCLA students and other former tenants of R.W. Selby & Co. apartments may finally be getting back money that was improperly withheld.
The office of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced Tuesday that R.W. Selby & Co. will have to pay back $450,000 because of improper security deposit deductions.
The Los Angeles-based property management firm has apartments in Westwood and other parts of L.A. County, as well as Orange and Riverside counties.
Recently, the firm came to an L.A. County Superior Court-approved settlement with the attorney general, according to a statement released Tuesday.
– Compiled by Sarah Healy
