Man Accused Of Killing Beloved USC Professor Appears In Court

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A student accused of killing a well-known USC professor just appeared in court for the first time late Tuesday.

CBSLA has learned the professor was very close to the student and was his mentor.

Police say 28-year-old David Jonathan Brown stabbed Bosco Tjan to death Friday.

Tjan was a beloved professor in the neuroscience graduate program. Tjan was an expert on perception, vision and vision cognition and helped found the USC Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, where he served as co-director.

If convicted, Brown faces a maximum sentence of 26-years to life in prison. He is being help on $2 million bail.

Sources told CBSLA's Dave Lopez that Brown, a Phd candidate was nervous and anxious about assignments.

The motive is still a mystery

Chris Purington, a research technician at USC who also considered Tjan a mentor, says he knows David Jonathan Brown.

"Talked to him a few times but nothing  that really stuck out. I can't imagine his motive, I just can't," Purington says.