Police seek suspect in student's murder

Over one thousand mourners filled the upper quad Tuesday morning, among chirping birds and blossoming foliage, to honor the life of slain 20 year-old junior Christopher Elser, who passed away late in the day on Sunday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Elser was attacked and stabbed twice by an intruder around 6 a.m. inside the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity house. Despite the efforts of Shock Trauma physicians, surgery could not save the student.

Baltimore City Police officers say that the investigation into Elser's death is ongoing. They are classifying the case as a crime of opportunity, and they believe that the killer did not specifically target Elser.

The incident occurred following a party held at the house rented to members of the SAE fraternity on the 2900 block of Saint Paul St. The party ended at about 4 a.m.

All of the occupants were asleep when an intruder allegedly walked up a set of outdoor steps and entered through an open rear door at about 5:45 a.m.

The intruder walked about 10 feet, passing through a small sitting area and kitchen before opening the first door on the left where Elser was sleeping.

Elser had traded bedrooms for the night with a resident of the house so that the person could get a good night's sleep before an exam the next day, according to Hopkins spokesman Dennis O'Shea.

"In some way, Chris was awakened, there was a struggle, and Chris was stabbed in the left pectoral area and the left arm," O'Shea said.

Although the intruder did not take anything from the house, "It was an opportunity for a burglary gone bad," Sgt. Cliff McWhite said.

"No one was looking to assault him. He was in a room that he doesn't usually sleep in," he added.

After being stabbed, Elser managed to wake his fraternity brother, sophomore Brian Kinsella. At the memorial service yesterday, Kinsella told the crowd that Elser said, "I tried, I fought."

Elser provided a vague description of his attacker.

"He said that a black man had stabbed him. He did not get the opportunity to say much else or to give a more detailed description," said Baltimore City Police Public Information Officer Nicole Monroe.

Police are paying very close attention to Elser's statement.

"That leads us to believe that it wasn't someone who he knew," Monroe said.

Elser was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was immediately taken into surgery. Elser's parents and sister traveled to Baltimore on Saturday, and friends began a vigil at the hospital.

But around noon on Sunday, Elser was removed from life support systems and died later that evening.

"When there was nothing more that could be done, the hospital helped us to mark the end of Chris' life with grace and dignity," the Elser family said in a statement.

The investigation continues, and a mobile police station has been added to the area to field potential community tips.

"This may be the toughest case I've come across," said Detective Vernon Parker, a veteran detective of 14 years said.

Parker said that many detectives are assisting on the investigation because of the sheer volume of work generated by the case.

"We don't have a suspect. We don't have a person's name. It's not like we have something that can narrow it down," Monroe said.

As a result, Parker said that investigators are focusing on crimes that have taken place in the area during the past two years in hopes that solving one of those cases could yield a lead in Elser's stabbing.

One incident that has raised police interest is the report of an attempted break-in at the Alpha Delta Epsilon house that occurred Saturday morning, roughly one hour before Elser was stabbed.

A person climbed to the second or third floor using a fire escape. The assailant then tried to enter the house through a window but was confronted by an occupant of the house. The assailant then left the scene.

Police are also re-examining another incident, which occurred on March 27 when an armed man entered the open front door of a graduate student's apartment while a party was in progress. He carried a silver automatic handgun in his waistband and demanded property from the occupants.

Parker also said that cases like Elser's are often solved by information from the public.

President William Brody opened Tuesday's service with an expression of consolation and grief, directed at both the Elser family and the Hopkins community, calling this a time of "excruciating sadness."

Students were asked by Elser's younger sister, Taylor, to wear t-shirts, shorts and sandals in honor of the her brother in an e-mail sent out to the student body by Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell on Monday evening.

Teary-eyed speakers stood before the crowd, which expanded further towards the opposite end of the Upper Quad with each passing minute and reminisced on the life of a student, friend, brother and son unanimously herald as a friendly, jovial young man.

When the list of scheduled speakers ended, attendees were encouraged to move to the podium to add their feelings on Elser and his life. Several of Elser's friends, his cousin and girlfriend welcomed the opportunity, recalling the happier moments of his life with anecdotes. There was even a Top 10 list of "our favorite things about Chris," as composed by juniors Emily Hutchinson and Popi Benisch, housemates of Elser's girlfriend.

SEA brothers offered a cheery look at the life of their fallen brother, telling stories of spontaneous road trips and nighttime antics at the SAE house. One student remembered the day Elser got a tattoo of the flag of his native South Carolina. When asked how he would reveal the news to his parents, he said that Elser had declared, "I put it on my dad's credit card."

A committee was compiled and headed by Executive Assistant the President Jerry Schnydman and charged with the task of putting together the service when 10 a.m. arrived.

"The president's office was asked to spearhead [the service]," said Schnydman. "I was essentially chair of the committee and Susan Boswell, [University Chaplain] Sharon Kugler and [Director of Community and Public Affairs] Dennis O'Shea and others were all part of the whole committee of people I asked to help put it together. There were a lot of people working to get it done in 24 hours."

He added that the Elser family and Brody spent a significant portion of time together prior to the service and felt that it would be best to have him open and close the service.

"The president spent a good bit of time on Saturday and Sunday with the Elser family. And I think the family was just very appreciative of his being at the hospital; they felt very comfortable with him. It was really on the basis that the family, over this two-day period, thought his kindness and thoughtfulness were so immense that they asked him to [open and close the service]."

Boswell commented, "When there's a crisis like this in a community like ours, its important for [Brody] to play that role. It's a statement that this is something that's affecting us all."

She noted that, while nothing specific is underway yet, there has already been much discussion about ways to honor Elser with a memorial.

Only a few hours after the service ended, Schnydman said he had gotten a great deal of positive feedback from Elser's family, frat brothers and Hopkins faculty, who were impressed by how the service was conducted.

"My sense is that people thought it was a very nice thing."

Remembrance continued Wednesday night with a candle-light vigil in front of Gilman. Approximately 200 people gathered, holding candles in silence for 30 minutes.

"I continue to be impressed with the level of support students are showing each other," Boswell said. "Something like this pulls a community together, and the level of caring I've seen is there in such a solid way."