Two Virginia Tech students charged in death of 13-year-old girl

BLACKSBURG, Va., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Two well-regarded Virginia Tech students have been charged in the death of a teenage girl who disappeared from her home last week.

David Eisenhauer, 18, and Natalie Keepers, 19, have been charged in the death of 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell, whose body was found along a highway in North Carolina, about 90 miles from the university and the teen's hometown of Blackburg.

Eisenhauer, a freshman engineering student and cross-country team member, was charged with first-degree murder. Keepers, a sophomore engineering student, was charged with improper disposal of a dead body -- a felony, and a misdemeanor count of being an accessory after the fact.

Both students are being held without bond pending their hearings.

Eisenhauer knew Lovell before her disappearance and the Virginia Tech student "used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her. Keepers helped Eisenhauer dispose of Nicole's body," police said in a statement.

The possible motive and Lovell's cause of death are not known.

Lovell was last seen Wednesday evening, police said. The family believes she pushed her dresser against her bedroom door and climbed out her window, but left without her medication for her liver transplant.