BLACKSBURG, Va. – **UPDATE: (WWBT) — Nicole Lovell’s preliminary cause of death has been determined to be stabbing, prosecutors announced at an afternoon press conference. Natalie Keepers, 19, will be charged Tuesday with being an accessory before the fact to the first-degree murder of Lovell, the Commonwealth Attorney said. Keepers remains charged with one felony count of improper disposal of a body and one misdemeanor count of accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony. **
On Saturday afternoon,, the four-day search for a missing 13- year-old Blacksburg girl came to an end. At approximately 4 p.m. Saturday, Virginia State Police located the remains of Nicole Madison Lovell on Route 89 just inside Surry County, N.C. Two arrests have now been made.
Late Friday night, the investigation led to David E. Eisenhauer, 18, a Virginia Tech student residing in Blacksburg. The Columbia, Md., native was charged Saturday morning with one felony count of abduction. Once Nicole was discovered and in consultation with Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt, Eisenhauer was charged later Saturday with first degree murder. He continues to be held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail.
Natalie Marie Keepers, the second suspect, has been charged with improper disposal of a dead body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony.
From the AP: “The girl had been missing since last week. Her family says she pushed a dresser in front of her bedroom door and climbed out a window Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
The newspaper cited an online biography of Eisenhauer that described him as a standout track and field athlete in high school. He was a three-time state champion in track and also competed in cross country, finishing second in the state both his junior and senior years. He was a first-team, all-state choice in cross country and a second-team All-Southeast Region selection, the biography stated.”
“This has been an extremely fast investigation within the just past 12 hours,” said Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson. “And we still have a great deal to do as there are multiple interviews to conduct and evidence to collected and analyzed as we reconstruct the timeline of events leading up to Nicole’s tragic death.”
