The Blacksburg Police Department has provided limited information on the abduction and murder of 13-year-old local teen Nicole Lovell.
At a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon, authorities announced Nicole Keepers, 19, would be charged with being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder, after initially only being charged with improper disposal of a body.
Following a tearful statement from Lovell's mother, Tammy Weeks, the police provided an update on the case.
Taking the podium after Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson, the Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettit stated stabbing was Lovell's likely cause of death, based on a "very preliminary examination." She also moved the estimated day of Lovell's death to "on or about Jan. 27," the day Lovell went missing.
ABC News reported earlier in the day obtaining unspecified documents that indicated Keepers would be getting the new charge and would appear in court on Thursday.
Previously, David Eisenhauer, 18, was charged with abduction and first-degree murder, while police believe Keepers only helped dispose of the body, according to The Associated Press.
Keepers will still face the accessory after the fact charge.
The police are not disclosing details about the nature of Eisenhauer's relationship with Lovell, but it appears likely they met online. They are also not detailing Eisenhauer's relationship with Keepers. Both are first-year engineering students at Virginia Tech and come from neighboring towns in Maryland.
Attorneys representing Eisenhauer and Keepers did not comment. Both face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Lovell went missing from her family's home in Blacksburg, just miles from Virginia Tech's campus, on Wednesday. She was found in North Carolina on Saturday, and the police arrested Eisenhauer that day and Keepers on Sunday.
