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Slain Gallaudet University Student A Muslim
WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (IslamOnline and News Agencies) - A slain 19-year-old Gallaudet University freshman student attending the oldest university in the United States for deaf students in Washington, Benjamin Varner, was a Muslim convert.
"Ben identified himself as a Muslim," his father said.
At about age 13, Ben developed an interest in Islam and began studying the Qur'an and attended a mosque in San Antonio. He said he wanted to one day marry a Muslim woman and raise a family, reports the Washington Post.
Varner was attacked on Saturday in his 4th floor dorm room and was stabbed several times.
His body was discovered earlier that morning after a fire alarm went off.
According to police sources, the victim appeared to have undergone an intense struggle with his attacker who ended up leaving behind a track of blood, reported the Post.
Police found a bloodstained jacket in a university trashcan over the weekend as a possible link to the murder, but no new information has resulted since the discovery.
On Thursday, family and friends of the victim gathered at the campus for a candlelight vigil and a mourning address given by Gallaudet University President, I. King Jordan.
Reverand Kirk VanGilder also gave an address regarding how spiritual Varner was for his age, while reciting the words: "Love doesn't die. People do," the Post reported.
Varner is scheduled to be buried on Friday in San Antonio, and the family said it planned to bury his Qur'an with him. Varner has been faithful to his religion ever since his acceptance of it when he was 13.
Willie Varner, Ben's father, said he was never sure what sparked his son's interest in Islam.
Varner's death is the second of two killings that took place at Gallaudet University.
On September 28th, Eric F. Plunkett, also a 19-year-old freshman, was also found slain three floors below where Varner was killed.
Freshman Thomas W. Minch was accused of Plunkett's murder and was arrested by District police five days later but was then released, reports the Post.
Minch was expelled from the University and sent home in Greenland, N.H. He was in Washington last week to testify before a grand jury, law enforcement sources have said.
Reminders of the deaths were everywhere on campus and police say the entire dorm is being treated as a crime scene.
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