Isimemen Etute, A Virginia Tech Recruit, Beat Tinder Date to Death After Learning He Was A Man

A Virginia Tech football recruit is in jail facing murder charges for beating his Tinder date to death after learning he was a man and not the woman he met online.

Eighteen-year-old Isimemen Etute was a 2021 recruit on the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. But the college freshman was arrested on Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing 40-year-old Jerry Smith, USA Today reports.

The young man met Smith under the name “Angie” while on the Tinder dating app. The young athlete went to Smith’s home on April 10 and received oral sex, according to the t attorney Jimmy Turk. The two engaged in sexual activity with Etute not aware of Smith’s sexual identity. Etute returned on May 31 and realized that Smith and “Angie” were the same person.

Etute began to punch Smith repeatedly and stomped on him, Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt said, as noted by WSLS. Etute admitted that Smith did not fight back and he heard a bubbly and gurgling noise while leaving the home.

A medical examiner ruled Smith’s cause of death as a blunt force to the head. A judge gave Etute a $75,000 secured bond due to him meeting all the requirements to prove he’s neither a flight risk nor a danger to society. The college student had no prior criminal history. The Commonwealth initially appealed the judge’s ruling, but Etute was granted bond later on Wednesday. He has been required to remain at his parent’s house in Virginia Beach and is not allowed to leave the state.

Virginia Tech revealed that the teen was placed on immediate interim suspension and was suspended from the football team. He was recruited to the school as a three-star linebacker from Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach. He had just signed his letter of intent in December before enrolling at Virginia Tech in January.