ME: Single stab wound killed Howard

Storrs (WTNH/AP) - The medical examiner says that a single stab wound to the abdomen killed Jasper Howard, a University of Connecticut football player. Meanwhile, no arrests have been made and police say they have no suspects in the case. 

Howard's death has been ruled a homicide.

The star cornerback died Sunday following an altercation outside a homecoming party on the Storrs campus. He was 20-years old and was expecting his first child.

"I have two children of my own, but I got 105 other sons," UConn Head coach Randy Edsall said. "And one of my sons have been taken away."

The incident has left the campus in shock.

"I know that our community is grieving this loss and we're all stressed by the violence it did involve," said UConn President Mike Hogan.

It all started around 12:30 Sunday morning when someone pulled a fire alarm at the dance. More than 300 people spilled outside, some of which were not students, and that's when a fight started between two groups.

19-year old Brian Parker, a red shirt freshman on the UConn football squad was also stabbed. Parker was treated and released from an area hospital.

"There's no indication at this point that this act is premeditated from inside the dance," said Major Ronald Blicher, UConn police. "There's no indication of that but we are early on in this investigation."

Howard was pronounced dead hours after the incident at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford where his coach, Randy Edsall, stood watch all night.

Howard was "full of life, just a great guy to be around," Edsall said.

A campus-wide alert was issued early Sunday and UConn Police Department have stepped up their patrols around campus in the wake of the incident and are working with State Police on the investigation.

"Walking around campus you can kind of feel everyone's sad," UConn student Maggie Chase said.

"You don't think it could happen at your school until you hear something like this," Zach Minnich said.

One arrest has been made following the melee. John Hood, 21, has been charged with breach of peace and interfering with an officer. Police say he is not a suspect in the stabbing.

Anyone with information on what happened is asked to call UConn police at 860-486-4800. The state police major crimes squad is assisting with the investigation.

Esdall said the team would gather on Tuesday to discuss moving forward, and that includes playing on Saturday at West Virginia.

 

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More info:

Jasper Howard UConn bio