Grand Jury Indicts Man In Death Of Morton Grove College Student

MORTON GROVE, IL — More than three years after their son was found dead in the woods near the campus of Southern Illinois University, the Morton Grove parents of Pravin Varughese feel his voice has been heard. Gaege Bethune, 22, of Eldorado, was indicted on two counts of first degree murder by a grand jury in Carbondale. He was allegedly the last person to see Varughese alive after giving him a ride from a party.

Niles West graduate Varughese was a sophomore attending SIU. His major was criminal justice and family and friends said he hoped to become a police officer.

Police first said he got lost in the woods and froze to death, but his family has long believed he was murdered. With this week's indictment, they said they have now cleared their son's name.

Bethune told police he picked up Varughese to give him a ride but the two got into a fight and Varughese ran into the woods after a brief scuffle. He had an encounter with an Illinois State Trooper whose dashboard camera video captured him returning from the woods. Bethune's account of the incident changed in subsequent interviews, according to footage of his interrogations.

Initially, the Jackson County Coroner ruled that Varughese died of hypothermia, ruling out homicide as the cause of death. His parents didn't believe it, so they hired their own investigators.

They authorized Dr. Ben Margolis of the Autopsy Center of Chicago to conduct a second autopsy, which found blunt force trauma to the head as a contributing cause of death.

They filed wrongful death lawsuits against Bethune, the City of Carbondale, its former police chief, the Illinois State Police and an individual state trooper.

A 2015 grand jury returned no charges against Bethune. At the time, State's Attorney Michael C. Carr released investigative findings explaining why Bethune was unlikely to have murdered Varughese.

Varughese was found on lying on his back, partially undressed. He was missing his shirt, both shoes, one sock and his jeans were pulled down. Photos of his body showed scratches, a bruise to his forehead and a small cuts to his upper lip and knuckles.

An Investigation Discovery short video called into question the investigation, suggesting local officials may not have wanted to classify Varughese's death as a murder.

» Read more from KFVS, WLS, WMAQ, The Southern Illinoisan

Top image: Pravin Varughese family photo | via Patch archives