Virginia Tech freshman LB Isi Etute charged with second-degree murder

Virginia Tech linebacker Isi Etute is facing second-degree murder charges, according to Blacksburg Police.

Etute, an 18-year-old freshman from Virginia Beach, was arrested on murder charges on Wednesday stemming from the death of a 40-year-old Blacksburg man. An investigation is ongoing, and investigators have spoken to witnesses, the Blacksburg Police Department said in a statement.

Police said they responded to a welfare check in Blacksburg on Tuesday and found a deceased male victim, identified as 40-year-old Jerry Smith. The death was ruled a homicide, and police ultimately identified Etute as a person of interest. Police added that Etute was an acquaintance of Smith. The linebacker was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail.

Virginia Tech said in its own statement that Etute had been suspended from the football team indefinitely, and that the university would assist the police investigation in any way possible.

Etute had yet to play a game for the football team. A member of the school’s 2021 recruiting class, he had been on campus since January. 247Sports rated him as a three-star recruit and listed him as the No. 166-ranked linebacker in the 2021 class.