University of Mississippi student Alexandria ‘Ally’ Kostial (21) was last seen on CCTV on Friday night, July 19. She stopped at the door of a bar and looked in, but she didn’t enter. She went home around midnight but left again at some point in the early morning. Her roommates did not hear her leave.
The next morning, police were doing routine patrols at Buford Ridge, a remote area with a fishing camp that both locals and college students would go to on the weekends to ride their ATVs in the lake bottom when the water is low. And a deputy came across Ally’s bullet-ridden body. She had been shot EIGHT times.
Police were tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding her case, and they acted quickly. On Monday July 22, they made an arrest. Brandon Theesfeld (22) was taken into custody and was charged with murder.
Brandon went before Circuit Court Judge Tuesday morning for an initial appearance where he received his formal charges. He will have a bond hearing on Wednesday morning.
Brandon’s father Daniel Theesfeld released the following statement:
“I know my son is innocent. And I have reasons to believe that I can’t share anything now. But I would ask everybody to please give him the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.”
Online comments indicated that Brandon and Ally knew each other, and that he had allegedly been stalking her.
Other comments say that Brandon’s sister and Ally were in the same sorority.
Brandon made some ‘charming’ social media posts before his arrest
Brandon’s father Daniel often posts about gun use on his Facebook page
More updates to come following Brandon’s hearing.
“I know my son is innocent:” Father of man accused in murder of Ally Kostial releases statement