Natalie Keepers, a 19-year-old Virginia Tech student, is the second person arrested this weekend in the murder of 13-year-old Nicole Lovell.
#BREAKING: Police: 19yo Natalie Keepers held on 1 felony count of improper disposal of a dead body @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/3PZHcnetgW
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) January 31, 2016
Lovell’s body was discovered by investigators in North Carolina on Saturday. Natalie Keepers was charged with helping David Eisenhauer, 18, dispose of the body. Eisenhauer, also a Virginia Tech student, has been charged with murder.
Natalie Keepers is being held without bail at the Montgomery County jail in Maryland on one felony count of improper disposal of a body and one misdemeanor count of accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony. She is from Laurel, Maryland.
Nicole Lovell disappeared from her home in Blacksburg on January 27 between midnight Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday. The family reportedly found a dresser pushed against the girl’s bedroom door. Fred Hawks Jr., Nicole’s uncle, told the paper the family believes she climbed out of a window to get out of the apartment complex where she lived with her family.
UPDATE: Virginia Tech student charged with abduction and first degree murder in the #NicoleLovell case. https://t.co/uSLLcZgWXy
— ABC13News (@ABC13News) January 31, 2016
While it doesn’t sound like Natalie Keepers knew Nicole Lovell, investigators say Lovell and David Eisenhauer were acquainted before she went missing.
“Eisenhauer used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her,” police said in a statement.
The Virginia Tech Police Department issued a statement about the horrific crime.
“The entire Virginia Tech community extends its support to (the girl’s) family and friends,” the statement reads. “The university is also reaching out to our campus community and the greater New River Valley community who may be affected by the events that have occurred over the past several days.”
David Eisenhauer & Natalie Keepers charged in #NicoleLovell case. Follow @cgheilman for updates from #Blacksburg pic.twitter.com/NZNvjCdVua
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) January 31, 2016
David Eisenhauer was studying engineering at Virginia Tech and was a member of the cross country team. No word on what Natalie Keepers was studying has emerged.
Both Natalie Keepers and David Eisenhauer will be arraigned in the Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Monday, according to Lt. Mike Albert, a spokesman for the Blacksburg Police.