Capital murder indictment handed down for Kostial murder

Yesterday afternoon, a Lafayette County grand jury returned an indictment for the murder of University of Mississippi student Alexandria “Ally” Kostial, 21, in July.

Brandon Theesfeld, indicted on capital murder charges.

Brandon Theesfeld, 22, will face capital murder charges. He was also a student at Ole Miss.

Kostial and Theesfeld knew each other, as evidenced by photos taken of them together. Kostial’s friends spoke out on social media after the murder, indicating that the relationship was not a good one.

The grand jury found that Theesfeld kidnapped Kostial and then shot her to death. reports the Clarion Ledger. Capital murder charges typically stem from a killing committed in the commission of another felony.

Alexandria “Ally” Kostial and the man indicted for her murder, Brandon Theesfeld, in a photo from 2016.

Kostial, from St. Louis, Mo., was a rising senior at Ole Miss, taking classes and working at the school this summer. She was on track to receive her bachelor’s degree in marketing next year.

Theesfeld is a Texas native and was also a senior at the University of Mississippi. Both he and Kostial were students in the School of Business Administration.

LaFayette County deputies found Kostial’s body July 20 while on a routine patrol in Harmontown, Miss., near Sardis Lake. She had been shot eight times.