Watch CBS News

Cody Cousins, Who Fatally Shot Purdue Student, Found Dead In Prison

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cody Cousins, who was convicted of killing a fellow Purdue University student in January, killed himself in his Michigan City jail cell.

Cousins was found in his single cell shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday and was pronounced dead 25 minutes later, according to a news release from state prison officials.

An autopsy is being scheduled, but his death appears to be a suicide, officials said.

Cousins, 24, was serving a 65-year sentence for murder from Tippecanoe County.

He was sentenced for the death of Drew Boldt, a student at Purdue, Jan. 21.

He arrived at the Indiana State Prison on October 23, 2014 and was on a unit for new arrivals.

"In general, I do what I want and I deal with the consequences later," Cousins, who pleaded guilty this summer, told the court during his sentencing this past summer.

On Jan. 21 around noon, Cousins entered the Electrical Engineering building on campus and confronted Boldt, of West Bend, Wis., and shot and stabbed the 21-year-old multiple times.

According to the Exponent, Elmo Griggs, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, said this was by far "the worst homicide (he had) ever seen" in a career that has included roughly 9,500 such examinations.

Griggs said Boldt was found with five gunshot wounds and 19 stab wounds.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.