Columbia Man Pleads No Contest In Murder Of Virginia Teen

CHRISTIANSBURG, VA – A Columbia man pleaded no contest at the end of the first week of a murder trial in which he was charged with killing and concealing the death of a 13-year-old girl. David Eisenhauer, 20, a former Virginia Tech student and Wilde Lake High School grad, was accused of stabbing a Blacksburg Middle School student to death in 2016. He was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with the girl.

Nicole Madison Lovell, 13, disappeared from her family's apartment in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, and her remains were found three days later over the state line in Surry County, N.C.

In the trial that began on Monday, prosecutors presented evidence that Lovell's blood was found in Eisenhauer's car and his DNA was discovered under her fingernails, The Washington Post reported. He could face a sentence of up to life plus 15 years now that he has been convicted of first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a dead body, according to the Post.

Eisenhauer entered his plea on Friday, Feb. 9, in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christiansburg, Virginia. Judge Robert Turk asked him if he was pleading no contest because he was guilty, and according to the Roanoke Times, he said: "Yes."

Eisenahuer will be sentenced in May. A sentencing hearing has been set for May 22 and is expected to last at least two days, the Roanoke Times reported.

Natalie Keepers, 21, of Laurel, will begin trial Sept. 17 for concealing a body and acting as an accessory, according to the Times. She and Eisenhauer were classmates at Virginia Tech.

Prosecutors previously said that in the case of Keepers, the charge of being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder carries a term of 20 years to life in prison. Concealing a dead body is a felony carrying a maximum term of 10 years.

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Both Eisenhauer and Keepers hailed from Howard County and were studying engineering at Virginia Tech at the time of the murder.

Eisenhauer attended Wilde Lake High School and was a star track athlete. In 2015, he was named the Howard County boys indoor track athlete of the year. He was listed as a long distance runner on Virginia Tech's track and field team until his bio was removed following his arrest.

Keepers attended Hammond High School, interned at NASA and wanted to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, according to The Washington Post.

Pictured, David E. Eisenhauer. Photo Credit: Montgomery County, Va., Jail.