OXFORD, Miss — Brandon Theesfeld made a brief court appearance in Mississippi Thursday morning.
Theesfeld’s defense counsel withdrew its request for a bond hearing and asked for him to have a psychological evaluation.
Theesfeld’s lawyer was originally expected to ask for "reasonable bond" in the Aug. 22 court hearing.
He’s accused of killing 21-year-old Ally Kostial in July. Her body was found about 20 miles from the Ole Miss campus. The autopsy showed she died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department. Kostial is from the St. Louis area and graduated from Lindbergh High School in 2016.
Friends described Kostial as sweet and genuine and said she always had a smile on her face. Her friends created a GoFundMe to try to raise $150,000 to dedicate the new mind and body studio on campus in her name.
Kostial’s family and friends were in court and all wore pink. According to NBC-Affiliate WMC, Kostial’s cousin read a family statement in court.
Kostial’s family spoke for the first time. Her cousin read a short statement in court.
“Ally’s family is deeply grateful for the prudent work accomplished by the Memphis police, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Lafayette County Coroner’s Office, the Ole Miss community and the many others who worked tirelessly over the past two weeks on this case,” said Kristi Kelley, Kostial’s cousin. “Our hearts go out to all of those touched by Ally’s positive spirit and passion for life who are now feeling sorrow. We pray for strength in the coming days and are thankful for the friends, neighbors, co-workers and many others who have supported us."
Theesfeld will remain in jail for now.
“The investigation, as far as I’m concerned, is still ongoing,” said Ben Creekmore, Mississippi Third District Attorney. “It’s not completed, and hopefully, we will have enough to go ahead and present it to the grand jury next week.”
Theesfeld was also a student at Ole Miss in the School of Business Administration, but has since been suspended from the school. He is originally from Texas.
In July, Theesfeld’s father released the following statement:
“I know my son is innocent. And I have reasons to believe that I can’t share anything now. But I would ask everybody to please give him the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.”