MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Foul play is not suspected in the death of a West Virginia University student whose body was found Saturday morning along the rail trail in Morgantown but Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston is not making any assumptions about what happened to the young man.
A bystander walking on the on the trail found Arthur W. Bagenda, 19, of Bethesda, MD., near the Walnut Street Bridge. Preston said the case has been classified as an “unattended death.”
“We just don’t assume it was an accident or anything else,” said Preston on WAJR-AM’s Morgantown AM.
“The worst thing that could happen is we assume it was an accident and we don’t do a good crime scene and a good follow up and then we find out it was a homicide. We investigate every unattended death as if it was a homicide until we prove otherwise.”
Bagenda, a pre-psychology major at WVU, is an immigrant and according to Preston, his mother, who lives outside of the United States, has been notified.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday to determine a cause of death and well as gather toxicology reports.
WVU released a statement on Bagenda’s death:
“The University community is saddened by the tragic death of Arthur William Bagenda. We send our thoughts and prayers to Arthur’s family, and the Division of Student Life has already been in touch to offer support and comfort.”
“The University has also reached out to Arthur’s roommates. Counseling is available through the Carruth Center (304-293-4431) or students may visit the office on the Evansdale campus.”
Preston said detectives are still piecing together what ultimately happened to Bagenda.
Anyone with information about the death was asked to contact the Morgantown Police Department at 304-284-7522.