Graduates pause to remember slain IU student
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Students, staff and family members paused during Saturday morning’s undergraduate ceremony at Indiana University to remember those lost, including IU senior Hanna Wilson.
Before the ceremony the university called for a moment of silence “to remember those we have lost this year to accidents or to unthinkable acts of violence.”
Wilson was found dead in rural Brown County in April. Wilson, 22, reportedly disappeared on April 21, police found her the following morning almost 20 miles away. She was two weeks away from walking in the commencement ceremony to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
She died from blunt force trauma after being struck three to four times in the head, the Brown County Coroner said.
Investigators believe 49-year-old Daniel Messel is responsible for the tragic death. Messel is in custody in the Brown County jail. He has been charged with her murder.
On Friday a private ceremony was held to present the family with her diploma.