LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Miss. – An Ole Miss student from the St. Louis area was found shot to death 20 miles from campus on July 20.
Here is what we know about the murder of 21-year-old Alexandria ‘Ally’ Kostial,
ALLY KOSTIAL FOUND DEAD 20 MILES FROM OLE MISS CAMPUS ON JULY 20
Police were on routine patrol when they found Kostial’s body.
The autopsy showed she died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department.
ALLY KOSTIAL
She graduated from Lindbergh High School in 2016. Kostial was attending summer school and teaching fitness classes at Ole Miss. Loved ones have described her as the sweetest and most genuine person.
WHERE SHE WAS LAST SEEN
NBC-Affiliate WLBT reported Kostial was last seen in city surveillance video stopping at the door of a bar on the square Friday night. Later on, she and Theesfeld were on a surveillance video at the Lakeside Market in Como which is not far from where her body would be found hours later.
LOVED ONES MOURN THE LOSS OF ALLY
Friends described Kostial as sweet and genuine and said she always had a smile on her face.
"She was quite possibly the nicest human being I have ever met," said Anna Pasco, who met Kostial in their freshman year at Ole Miss. "Ally was just one of those people that constantly lift you up, so that’s why it’s so hard for me and her other friends because no one deserves this."
A spokesperson from Lindbergh High School shared a statement with 5 On Your Side Monday morning,
'Our hearts are broken for the Kostials and we extend our deepest sympathies to them at this time.'
"I think her best piece of advice she ever gave me was not being afraid to be myself,” childhood friend Lauren Mueller said.
She said Ally lived by that advice and had big dreams.
"She loved kids so much, and I know she wanted to start a family of her own one day,” Lauren said.
Her sorority house at Ole Miss is draped in black ribbon as her sorority sisters mourn her death.
Since her death, a few people have placed flowers outside the school. A card attached to one bouquet said Ally was a bright light.
A GoFundMe has been set up by a family member to help with funeral expenses. It has exceeded its $10,000 goal.
CLASSMATE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY ON JULY 22
Brandon Theesfeld, 22, was arrested on Monday in Memphis, Tennessee – which is about an hour and a half from Oxford, Mississippi. He was then transported to the Lafayette County Jail and charged in connection to Kostial’s murder.
WHO IS BRANDON THEESFELD
Theesfeld was also a student at Ole Miss in the School of Business Administration, but has since been suspended from the school, a spokesperson confirmed.
He is originally from Texas.
Theesfeld made an initial court appearance Tuesday morning where he received his formal charges.
NBC-Affiliate WLBT reported, outside the Lafayette County Courthouse, Major Alan Wilburn with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department said there will be no bond hearing for Theesfeld on Wednesday. He said that they are waiting on Theesfeld’s lawyer to file a motion for bond.
A close friend of Ally's confirmed to 5 On Your Side that Kostial and Theesfeld had an on-again, off-again relationship at Ole Miss that was 'sometimes troubled.'
His father, Daniel, released a statement to reporters on Tuesday,
“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.”
VIGIL AT LINDBERGH HIGH SCHOOL
Nearly 100 people gathered at Lindbergh High School for a candlelight vigil to remember Kostial on July 25.
The vigil was for those who knew Kostial. There will be a public visitation for her on July 26 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Kirkwood from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Her funeral will be held at the same church on Saturday at 10 a.m.