The death of Misrach Ewunetie, a Princeton University student whose disappearance in October prompted a week-long search, has been ruled a suicide. Her lifeless body was found on the campus grounds on October 20. Officials announced the findings of an autopsy on Wednesday, December 28.
Twenty-year-old Ewunetie’s body was found on the Ivy league New Jersey campus behind the tennis courts, six days after her family reported her missing.
The Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner’s office conducted the autopsy on Ewunetie, and in their report declared that the young student died from a concoction of several pills.
A statement released by the Mercer County Prosecutors Office revealed that she died from Bupropion, an antidepressant, and Escitalopram, also an antidepressant that is also prescribed for people with anxiety. The last drug found in her system was hydroxyzine, an antihistamine used to treat allergic reactions, anxiety, and other related disorders.
The last time anyone saw Ewunetie was on October 14, at around 3 am. Ewunetie’s brother, Universe Ewunetie, told reporters that another roommate who arrived at their suite around 4:30 am did not find her there.
The high-achieving student missed an appointment to apply for US citizenship two days later, making her family, based in Ohio, worry. They immediately reported her missing, prompting a thorough search for her throughout the campus.
Her older brother described Ewunetie, who was pursuing a degree in sociology at the Ivy League school, as the jewel of the family and the youngest and only daughter. He called her a beautiful and precious soul.
The news of Ewunetie’s disappearance made national headlines, with people across the country following the story and hoping she would be found alive and well. Law enforcement agencies swarmed the school searching for her, including the University’s Department of Public Safety, the New Jersey State Police, and the Princeton Police Department.
Rochelle Calhoun, the University’s Vice President for Campus Life, wrote a letter to the university community saying that authorities had established that her body had no obvious signs of injury and that her death did not look criminal or suspicious.
The 20-year-old student received a full scholarship to Princeton University for the four years she was meant to be studying there. She received the scholarship after doing exceptionally well in Villa Angela-St Joseph High School.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Ewunetie had interned with McKinsey & Company and the Bank of America. She was the 2021 LEDA career fellow and had worked as a volunteer at a food bank in her home state of Ohio.
