University Freshman In Critical Condition After Attack In Dorm Room; Fellow Student Charged

Wednesday, September 26th 2007, 8:55 pm

By: News On 6

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) _ A Middle Tennessee State University student attacked another in his dorm room overnight, critically injuring the young woman, university officials said Wednesday.

The 18-year-old freshman was found unconscious in the room of the suspect, who placed an emergency call around midnight, said Bob Glenn, vice president for student affairs.

Kevin Sisco, also an 18-year-old freshman, was charged with attempted first-degree murder after campus police consulted the local district attorney, university Police Chief Buddy Peaster said.

The woman was beaten and sustained trauma to her head, Peaster said. He did not know if the woman had been beaten with a weapon of some kind, although none had been found.

Sisco told police the woman had a medical condition and had fallen down, Peaster said, adding, ``His explanation didn't coincide with what we were seeing.''

The victim was listed in stable but critical condition Wednesday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Glenn said.

Police were still waiting on forensic tests to determine whether she might have been sexually assaulted. They released the woman's name, but The Associated Press generally does not report the names of victims of sexual assault.

Sisco was being held without bail Wednesday; information on whether he had an attorney was not immediately available.

Sisco and the young woman lived in the same coed dorm and knew each other, but investigators were still learning details about their relationship, Peaster said.

The university is about 30 miles southeast of Nashville and enrolls about 22,500 students.

Both students' families were notified and the university sent out an e-mail to faculty, staff and students Wednesday morning. The university held a meeting Wednesday afternoon with students living on campus to answer questions about the attack, university spokesman Tom Tozer said.