Virginia Tech football player charged with 2nd-degree murder

A freshman Virginia Tech football player has been charged with second-degree murder and suspended from the team.

A freshman Virginia Tech football player has been charged with second-degree murder, authorities said. Officers responded to a building in Blacksburg, home to the university, on Tuesday night for a welfare check and found 40-year-old Jerry Smith dead, the Blacksburg Police Department said. His death was ruled a homicide, police said, but they did not release his cause of death. Linebacker Isimemen Etute was identified as a person of interest and later charged with second-degree murder, police said. Police determined Etute and Smith, of Blacksburg, were acquaintances, adding that they don't believe there's an ongoing threat to the public.