MSU police identify body found in basement

EAST LANSING (U-WIRE) - The body of a former Michigan State University student was discovered at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the basement of South Wonders Residence Hall. A hall employee found the body while investigating the source of a strong odor.

Police tentatively identified the body Wednesday evening but are not releasing the name until family has been notified, said MSU police Capt. Tony Kleibecker.

"He is not a student now," Kleibecker said. "But has been in the past."

The body of a male in his early 20s was found in a kitchen area, once used as a snack bar, Kleibecker said. The kitchen, reportedly inaccessible to students, is adjacent to a study room, he said. Police are labeling the death as suspicious, but detectives have not found signs of foul play.

"The body has been there for some time," Kleibecker said soon after the body was discovered. "And at this point it's difficult to determine race and sex even."

An autopsy will be performed this morning to determine the cause of death, Kleibecker said.

The area of the basement where the body was discovered will be closed off until investigators are finished, he said. The South Wonders basement also houses storage rooms, laundry facilities and a fitness room.

About 600 students live in each of Wonders' two wings.

Residents had complained of a strange odor in the south lobby and near a stairwell leading to the basement and cafeteria for several days.

MSU senior Emily Schwab, who worked as a Wonders security guard during the summer, said the kitchen where the body was found is normally kept locked.

"I was in that little kitchen area many times," Schwab said, adding she hasn't been in the room since mid-August.

The kitchen does not have any outside windows, and there is only a small opening between the kitchen and adjacent study room, she said.

"It's like a little drive-up window," she said. "You couldn't get through it."

MSU first-year student Julia Woerle said she noticed a bad odor Wednesday while at her class in Wonders.

"I never would have thought it was a body," she said. "It was just a really bad smell."

Woerle said she hadn't noticed the odor Tuesday when she had class in Wonders, but said some of her friends had.

"No one knew what it was," she said.

Several classes held in Wonders were canceled or moved to other rooms Wednesday afternoon.

MSU President M. Peter McPherson said Wednesday evening he did not know how the body got into Wonders, but students should not feel in danger because of this death.

"I don't think ... what we have here is anything to suspect there is any danger involved," McPherson said.

MSU first-year student Becky Smialek, who lives on the third floor of South Wonders, said she noticed a strange odor for the last several days.

"It's really, really freaky," Smialek said. "I was down there (in the basement) writing a paper at 11 last night."

Smialek, who also said the kitchen is kept locked, did not know if she wanted to sleep in Wonders on Wednesday night.

"We're not even sure if we're spending the night here," Smialek said. "It's just slightly uncomfortable knowing that happened here and we've not lived here a month."

Smialek's friend, MSU first-year student Kari Stander, said she first noticed a strange odor on Monday.

"From now on whenever I go to the basement I'm never going alone," said Stander, who lives on the fifth floor of South Wonders.

Kleibecker said people should be patient until police determine what happened.

"People have to do what they need to do to feel safe," Kleibecker said. "There's no reason to panic at this point."

09-24-99