Virginia Tech football player charged with second-degree murder

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Virginia Tech freshman linebacker Isi Etute was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday, according to the Blacksburg (Va.) Police Department.

Etute, who is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was suspended from the football team as well as the university once the news broke.

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Blacksburg police said that they performing a welfare check on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m., and that’s when they found 40-year-old Jerry Smith dead.

Virginia Tech linebacker from Virginia Beach charged with second-degree murder (Blacksburg Police Department)

The death was ruled a homicide by investigators, and a day later is when they arrested Etute.

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"Blacksburg Police continues to lead this ongoing investigation, and the university will assist law enforcement agencies working the case in any way it can," the school said in a statement via ESPN.com.

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Etute, a three-star recruit by ESPN, joined Virginia Tech last July. He was the 29th-ranked recruit in Virginia, and he held offers from North Carolina State, Virginia, and Vanderbilt. Etute recently participated in spring practice and he had an opportunity to land a spot on the roster as a backup linebacker.

According to the Blacksburg police, the investigation is ongoing. If Etute is indeed guilty of committing the crime, his football career at Virginia Tech will be over.