Brandon Theesfeld, a former student in the School of Business Administration, has been charged with the murder of Alexandria “Ally” Kostial. On Tuesday morning, he had his first appearance before Judge Andrew Howorth in circuit court.

Theesfeld was suspended by the university, according to a university spokesperson.

Theesfeld, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation at around 4 p.m. on Monday. He is being held at the Lafayette County Detention Center.

Kostial was found at 10:23 a.m. on Saturday near Buford Ridge in nearby Harmontown — about 20 miles north of Oxford. Investigators have not released how she died.

The investigation is still ongoing, according to a statement from the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Lafayette County Coroner Rocky Kennedy said that any information about Kostial’s cause of death was hearsay at this point because the Sheriff’s Department has not released any information regarding her cause of death.

“The reason we haven’t updated any information at this point is out of respect for Ally’s family and to preserve the integrity of our investigation,” Kennedy said. “We’re trying to solve a murder.” 

Kenndy said that most reports of Kostial’s cause of death cited a “source close to the investigation,” and couldn’t be verified at this time.