A track and field athlete at Virginia Tech who has been charged in the murder of a 13-year-old girl is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing this week.
David Edmond Eisenhauer was arrested in January and charged in the abduction and murder of Nicole Lovell, the young victim whose family had reported her missing. Authorities allege Eisenhauer, 19, plotted to lure her from her apartment under the promise of a date, and then killed her.
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According to a search warrant, Lovell and Eisenahuer communicated via the anonymous message app Kik.
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Authorities were then able to establish a link between the Lovell and the suspect. A friend of Eisenhauer’s said the suspect was afraid his relationship with the under-age girl would be exposed and asked how he could dispose of a body.
Warrants reveal how KIK app helped find suspect in 13 yr old's disappearance & murder https://t.co/GQueO6RKvh #NicoleLovell #ABC13News #KIK
— Danner Evans (@DannerEvans) May 11, 2016
Authorities allege Eisenhauer and a co-defendant, Natalie Keepers, met to discuss killing Lovell and decided they should slit her throat. A medical examiner ruled Lovell died from stab wounds to the neck.
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Keepers has been charged with accessory before and after the fact in Lovell’s slaying and concealing a dead body. Eisenhauer is charged with abduction and first-degree murder.
ICYMI: Eisenhauer feared underage girl would ‘expose’ him, sought advice before Nicole Lovell's death, friend says https://t.co/kdx19IGbrd
— Jacob Demmitt (@DemmittRT) May 5, 2016
Eisenhauer was a three-time state track champion and two-time cross country runner-up during his high school career. Deadspin reported Virginia Tech has suspended Eisenhauer and removed his profile from the athletics department web site.
Natalie Keepers’ request for cameras in the courtroom in Nicole Lovell case denied – https://t.co/AVgl6RbEJW pic.twitter.com/dFqFRJl40G
— NRVNews (@nrvnews) May 4, 2016