West Chester University student Asia Adams was murdered in her Germantown home on Monday, Nov. 8, according to police.Police and the fire department responded to smoke coming from the second floor of Adams? mother?s apartment on the 200 block of Seymour Street, said Sgt. John Taylor of the Philadelphia Police Department?s Homicide Unit.
Adams, a junior majoring in psychology was found in one of the apartment?s bedrooms.
According to published reports, she was found naked from the waist down. However, police would not comment on whether rape was involved.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a laceration to the throat. Third degree burns were also found on Adams? body as a result of the fire, Taylor said.
Police continue to investigate the murder, and as of Friday no suspects had been arrested.is just amazing.”
Loretta MacAlpine, director of public relations and marketing at the university, said the campus was shocked to hear about the incident. “She was a bright student, an involved student. She was a mentor. To hear her life was cut short was devastating. It was a senseless crime, and we hope her killer is brought to justice.”
However, through the shock and grief, MacAlpine said there has been an “outpouring of emotion and generosity” from the WCU campus. MacAlpine also mentioned that Jennifer Mundy, Adams? roommate, is looking into starting a scholarship in her friend?s name.The murder has hit home with the campus community, affecting everyone.
“Just from talking to everyone, you get a sense of how sad everyone is,” said Darryl Carver, a Comcast CN8 reporter who was on campus Thursday night to update viewers on the murder case. “The amount of friends this young woman made is just amazing.”
A $5,000 reward is being offered by the “Save the Children” campaign, a group that works to prevent youth violence, to anyone who can provide information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Adams? death.
According to a press release from the campaign, assistance is sought from the “Youth Build School, local construction companies, local unions, and individuals who would be able to assist [Adams?] mother with the rebuilding of theirhome. Their home sustained serious fire and water damage from the fire.”
Several students paid tribute to Adams during a two-hour broadcast of Urban Emotions on WCUR late Thursday night.
Sitting in the WCUR studio, surrounded by friends, Shanaya Dantzler said it “wasn?t easy to lose a friend, to lose someone to something of this nature. But she served her purpose on Earth.
She touched so many people in this room, on this campus.” Memorial services were held on Sunday afternoon at the William Penn Charter High School, Adams? high school alma mater.