Suspect in Purdue University dorm room stabbing wants to use insanity defense
LATEST: Court records confirm Sha’s court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15 at 8 a.m.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — The suspect in last month’s Purdue University dorm room stabbing wants to use the insanity defense in court, according to court docs obtained by News 8 on Monday.
A judge on Monday formally approved the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office’s request ordering Ji Min Sha, the suspect in the Oct. 5 Purdue University dorm room stabbing, to stand trial on Dec. 2 to examine his sanity at the time of the stabbing.
Sha is being held at the Tippecanoe County Jail on one count of murder for the death of his roommate, Varun Chedda. The two lived in McCutcheon Hall, on the west side of Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.
Chedda is from Indianapolis and Sha is an international student from Seoul, South Korea.
Sha called the Purdue University Police Department at 12:44 a.m. on Oct. 5. He told police his roommate was dead.
Chedda’s autopsy revealed his cause of death was multiple sharp force traumatic injuries to the head and neck.
Sha made his first court appearance on Oct. 7. He made statements to reporters while outside of the courtroom.
“I was blackmailed,” Sha said.
