Update 05/30/2022 3:02pm:

Reports surfaced noting former Virginia Tech football player Isimemen Etute was found not guilty of all charges related to the beating death of a Blacksburg resident. 

The incident occurred in May 2021, and Etute was a freshman at the time. Etute was charged with 2nd-degree murder and was facing up to 40 years. However, the jury sided in his favor after a self-defense argument was presented, noting Etute feared for his life after the victim tried to “make a reach” towards his bed, where a knife was found. 

Following the verdict, Etute’s lawyer James Turk said “I think he's earned the right to go back to school and further his academic and sports career. I think the school that ends up taking him is going to get probably a lot wiser and a much smarter and an exceptional athlete.” Stay tuned for more updates. 

source: ESPN

Original 06/09/2021 5:30pm:

Suspended Virginia Tech football player, Isimemen David Etute, reportedly admitted to punching and stomping on a Tinder date who posed as a woman according to an argument presented at his court appearance on Wednesday.

Etute was arrested and charged on June 2nd after restaurant worker Jerry Paul Smith was found dead with missing teeth, multiple cranial fractures, and all the bones in his face broken. Etute is said to have admitted to police that he punched Smith five times and stomped on him after discovering that the person, with whom he had a previous sexual encounter, was a woman.

The freshman football player reportedly visited Smith's apartment on April 10 after matching with someone named "Angie" on Tinder. Believing Smith was a woman, Etute received oral sex before returning to the apartment on May 31. However, Etute discovered that "Angie" was a man before the alleged murder took place.

Etute's attorney, Jimmy Turk, argued that Smith solicited Etute for sex and that the incident is "more than someone just showing up to an apartment and punching someone."

"Nobody deserves to die, but I don't mind saying don't pretend you are something that you are not," Turk said. "Don't target or lure anyone under that perception. That's just wrong."

Etute has been charged with second-degree murder and was placed on house arrest after receiving a $75,000 bond. 

Source: The Roanoke Times