American student Catherine Serou found dead in Russia after her mother received disturbing text; suspect charged

A court in central Russia on Sunday arraigned a suspect on murder charges in the death of an American woman who was studying at a local university. The body of 34-year-old Catherine Serou was found Saturday in a wooded area near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, 250 miles east of Moscow. She had been missing since Tuesday.

Her mother, Beccy Serou, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, told National Public Radio that her daughter had last texted her: "In a car with a stranger. I hope I'm not being abducted." Her sister, Marie Claire Serou, told CBS Sacramento that it's unclear if the text was sent by her or someone else.