Purdue University student confessed to fatally stabbing roommate while he was sitting in chair: affidavit

A Purdue University student who was arrested in the slaying of his roommate has confessed to the fatal stabbing, according to court documents.

The suspect, Ji Min Sha, a 22-year-old studying cybersecurity, told reporters ahead of a court hearing Friday that he was “blackmailed” but did not elaborate when pressed.

Sha “said the knife on the floor was his, and admitted he used the knife to kill” roommate Varun Manish Chheda “while he was sitting in the chair where police found him” in their bloodied McCutcheon Hall room, according to an affidavit obtained by NBC News.

Sha told authorities that “after he killed Chheda he called 911 and remained in the room until the officers arrived and arrested him,” according to the document.

Ji Min Sha, left, allegedly stabbed his roommate, Varun Manish Chheda.

Authorities found Varun Manish Chheda, who was studying data science, in a chair in the students’ bloodied McCutcheon Hall room with “multiple stab sounds and lacerations” to his head and neck, said the document.

Students attend a vigil for Varun Manish Chheda, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. (Alex Martin/Journal and Courier/)

Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete days earlier called the attack “unprovoked and senseless.”

Charges have not yet been filed against Sha, who made his first court appearance Friday and was issued a 72-hour hold to enable authorities to “further investigate.”

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