Kentucky man charged with murder after Murray State University student found shot to death
Update: Sotomayor was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The body of a Murray State University student was found Friday morning in Calloway County, and Kentucky State Police said a man has been charged with her murder.
With the help of a student profile and family members, detectives were able to identify Sarah Townsend, 21, whose body was discovered early Friday morning in southern Calloway County in a ditch on Fox Road near McCuiston Drive.
Preliminary autopsy reports determined Townsend, originally from Farmville, Virginia, died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a Saturday morning Kentucky State Police news release.
On Friday evening, Kentucky State Police investigators learned that Murray State University Police were asked to conduct a welfare check on Townsend after she failed to report to work that afternoon, per the news release.
Investigators began interviewing friends and relatives once Townsend was identified, and state police said that allowed them to determine her last known whereabouts.
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With help from “various intelligence services,” state police learned Townsend’s vehicle, a Toyota Camry, was seen on traffic cameras in central Georgia.
Further investigation led state police to a suspect who also had ties to the same area in Georgia, the news release said.
Early Saturday, detectives determined the Toyota Camry was back in Kentucky, and they located the suspect, Julius Sotomayor, 22, about 4 a.m. near his home in Dexter, Kentucky.
Townsend’s Toyota Camry, which state police accuse Sotomayor of stealing, was found nearby, the news release said.
The unincorporated community of Dexter is about 10 miles north of Murray in Western Kentucky.
Detectives found “sufficient probable cause” to arrest Sotomayor and charge him with murder, theft by unlawful taking (auto) and tampering with physical evidence in connection with Townsend’s death, the news release said.
Sotomayor is being held in the Calloway County Jail on a $1 million bond, and he was appointed a public defender ahead of an April 7 court hearing, per online records.
Kentucky State Police investigators were assisted by numerous agencies, including the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office, Murray State University Police and officials with the university.
State police said the investigation is ongoing.
Murray State University President Bob Jackson told the campus community in a message that he was “deeply saddened” to inform them of the “tragic news” of Townsend’s death.
”Sarah was a student majoring in pre-veterinary medicine/animal/veterinary technology and a Residential Advisor at College Court Apartments,” Jackson said. “Murray State University is one Racer family and this loss is felt deeply by all of us.”
”Students may contact University Counseling Services at 270-809-6851 and msu.counselingcenter@murraystate.edu. Faculty and staff needing assistance are encouraged to contact the University’s Employee Assistance Program at 800-441-1327,” Jackson added. “Please keep the family and friends of Sarah in your thoughts and prayers.”
Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Murray State student Sarah Townsend found dead; Kentucky man arrested
