Coroner Confirms Ole Miss Co-Ed Shot Multiple Times; But Not 8 Times

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Alexandria M. Kostial was found dead Saturday in Harmontown.
Photo via Facebook

The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that Ole Miss student Ally Kostial died from multiple gunshot wounds.

“We just got the preliminary autopsy back and Alexandria M. Kostial died from multiple gunshot wounds – manner of death is homicide,” Maj. Alan Wilburn said in an email.

Lafayette County Coroner Rocky Kennedy confirmed that Kostial died from multiple gunshot wounds; however, he said it was not eight gunshots as many other local and national news organizations have previously reported. Although Kennedy said he could not release how many times she had been shot at this time as he is awaiting “confirmation from the autopsy results for the exact number of wounds.”

Kostial. 21, was found dead by a Lafayette County sheriff’s deputy on Saturday near Sardis Lake in Harmontown.

Courtesy of Lafayette County Jail.

On Tuesday, Brandon Theesfeld, 22, was officially charged with Kostial’s murder during his first appearance hearing at the Lafayette County Courthouse. His bond hearing was postponed to give defense attorneys and state prosecutors time to prepare for the future bond hearing.

A motive for the killing has not yet been released by investigators. According to friends, the two had known each other for several years.

Theesfeld was a student in the School of Business Administration and has been suspended from the university. Kostial, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, was working toward a bachelor’s degree in marketing in the School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi.