Boyfriend accused of beating Pa. college student to death

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The boyfriend of a college freshman found dead in her dorm room was charged Monday with homicide after an autopsy found signs she had been severely beaten and strangled.

Authorities responding to a 911 call early Sunday at Millersville University said 19-year-old Gregorio Orrostieta had blood smeared on his face and a dried cut on his forehead and was trying to administer CPR to student Karlie Hall, police said. His shirt was ripped, exposing scratch marks on his chest, and he had blood on his hands and jeans, the police affidavit said.

Orrostieta told police he shoved Hall, causing her to fall and hit her head on a chair, and then gave her a "back hand" to the face, court records show. Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said that the autopsy indicated Hall suffered numerous injuries while she fought for her life.

"He's responsible and we're going to hold him accountable," Stedman told reporters at a news conference to announce the homicide charge. Orrostieta had previously been charged in the case with aggravated assault.

His arrest affidavit said the dorm's video surveillance confirmed no one else entered or left the room during the time when the slaying occurred.

The two had been dating about 11 months. Orrostieta, of Kennett Square, is not a Millersville student. Stedman said Orrostieta doesn't have a lawyer on record.

Orrostieta told police he and Hall, 18, of Chadds Ford, had argued at a party Saturday night and she had hit him, the affidavit said. They made up before returning to the dorm at around 1:30 a.m. and arguing again, the affidavit said. Stedman declined to say if there was a history of abuse in the relationship.

Stedman said witnesses reported hearing a struggle at around 2 a.m., about the time authorities believe Hall was killed. The dorm's resident assistant knocked on the door, but no one answered, he said.

Police responding to Orrostieta's call seeking help for someone in cardiac arrest at the Bard Hall dorm found Hall unresponsive at around 5:20 a.m. Sunday, according to the affidavit and a university statement.

In a note to students, Millersville president John Anderson called Hall's death "unfathomable." An outdoor memorial was planned for Monday night.

The university's communications director, Janet Kacskos, said Hall's death had shaken the 8,000-student state-owned university.

"We've never had this happen. We're a pretty bucolic, rural campus. Very safe," Kacskos said.

Friends said Hall was a finance major who always appeared happy and often spent her free time going to the gym or feeding ducks at a campus pond.

"I knew that the relationship wasn't that great," said Hall's friend, Trisha Faust, 19, of Emmaus. "It was on-again, off-again."

Molly Gaetano, 19, of Pittsburgh, who lives two doors down from Hall on the second floor of the three-story dormitory, said she last spoke to her Friday.

"She never talked bad about anyone. She was always smiling and cheerful," Gaetano said.

A memorial with flowers and cards was set up at Hall's dorm room, she said.

Hall and her twin sister, Kristin, graduated from Unionville High School last June and went to Millersville together, Principal Paula Massanari said. The girls also have an older sister.

Hall was a member of the school rugby club and gay-straight alliance, and she volunteered at a local animal shelter, Massanari said. She was described in a college recommendation letter as a "hard-working" student, who was working a part-time job to help offset the cost of college.

"This has certainly hit our school community very hard," Massanari said. "We are devastated by the loss."