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Cops: Va. college student was strangled by roommate

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Authorities say a University of Mary Washington student found slain in a Fredericksburg, Va. house was strangled.

Fredericksburg police spokeswoman Natatia L. Bledsoe says the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's preliminary finding is that 20-year-old Grace Rebecca Mann died from asphyxiation by strangulation.

Police have charged 30-year-old Steven Vander Briel with first-degree murder and abduction in Mann's death.

Mann shared a house with Briel and two other roommates. The other roommates found the 20-year-old from northern Virginia slain on April 17. Briel was apprehended two hours later.

Bledsoe says Briel was arraigned on Tuesday. He is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Mann's funeral was held Tuesday in Falls Church.

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