A Virginia Tech football player allegedly assaulted and caused the death of a man in Blacksburg who pretended to be a woman online. The “woman” the player found on Tinder turned out to be a man who was seeking a relationship with the player, as The Blaze reports.
How did it all happen?
40-year-old restaurant worker Paul Smith was found dead in his apartment on June 1. The evidence pointed to a fatal assault.
18-year-old Isimemen Etute was later arrested by the police for the terrible incident.
According to the prosecutors, Etute had met up with Smith one time after talking on the dating app Tinder. They reportedly met for the second time on May 31, when Etute finally discovered that Smith was actually a man, not a woman, as he had pretended on the dating app. Etute allegedly assaulted the other man until he fell to the ground.
Police said that Etute told them Smith did not fight back.
Etute's attorney confirmed most of the details in court on Wednesday, but insisted on dispelling the notion that this was a random incident.
“I'm not saying what happened was acceptable, but this was more than someone just showing up to an apartment,” Jimmy Turk said.
The medical examiner’s report established that Smith passed away because of the assault. Tuck shared with reporters that Smith had wronged Etute.
“I don't mind saying, don't pretend you are something that you are not. Don't target or lure anyone under that perception. That's just wrong.”
Etute was suspended from Virginia tech and from the football team following the terrible Blacksburg incident.