CHRISTIANSBURG, VA. — A judge ruled Friday that there was sufficient evidence against two former Virginia Tech students charged in the disappearance and death of a 13-year-old girl to refer the case to a grand jury.
Prosecutors cited text messages found on a defendant's cellphone in the case against two former Virginia Tech students charged with kidnapping and killing 13-year-old Nicole Lovell.
At a Friday hearing, prosecutors entered into evidence text messages taken from David Eisenhauer's cellphone. One message said that if the body isn't found for a week, "it will never be traced." Another mentioned engaging in "overkill," and a third said the young teen had been "blackmailing another guy too."
Judge Robert Viar Jr. ruled there was sufficient evidence to refer the case to a grand jury.
Eighteen-year-old Eisenhauer is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the January stabbing death of the Blacksburg seventh-grader. Nineteen-year-old Natalie Keepers is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body.
At a previous hearing, a prosecutor said the two college students from Maryland met at a fast-food restaurant on Jan. 26 to plan Nicole's death. Authorities have not given a possible motive.