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Isimemen Etute, other Virginia Tech football players investigated for potential hate crime

Victoria Weber, news editor Mar 30, 2022

Recently unsealed court documents indicate Isimemen Etute and three other Virginia Tech football players were under investigation for a possible hate crime in relation to Etute’s murder charge. According to court documents, two accompanied Etute the night of the incident, and one player was involved in conversations regarding the matter.

Then-18-year-old Etute was arrested in June 2021 after police discovered 40-year-old Jerry Paul Smith deceased in Smith’s Blacksburg apartment. A medical examiner ruled Smith died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Etute and Smith met on Tinder in April 2021, where Etute’s attorney Jimmy Turk claimed Smith indicated he was a woman named Angie. According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the two later interacted sexually at Smith’s apartment. ... According to police, Etute returned to Smith’s apartment in May to verify Smith’s gender. Etute was joined by two other football players, who were present on security camera footage outside Smith’s apartment the same evening he died, according to court documents.

Prosecutors claimed Etute assaulted Smith after discovering he was a man, striking Smith in the face repeatedly. Prosecutors also alleged Etute stomped on Smith’s face; however, a detective revealed Etute said he accidentally stepped on Smith after he fell to the ground. ... Etute was indicted on a second-degree murder charge in October 2021.

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