Howard County Teens Indicted in Virginia Girl's Murder

CHRISTIANSBURG, VA — Two Howard County teens were indicted Tuesday in the murder of a 13-year-old girl.

David E. Eisenhauer, 19, of Columbia, and Natalie M. Keepers, 19, of Laurel, were indicted on charges that carry the possibility of life in prison.

The grand jury in Christiansburg, Virginia, added a new charge — concealment — in Eisenhauer's case, according to The Roanoke Times.

Prosecutors said that Eisenhauer and Keepers, who both attended Virginia Tech, planned the killing of a Blacksburg middle school girl.

Nicole Madison Lovell, 13, described her alleged killer, Eisenhauer, as her boyfriend after the two met on Facebook, according to The Washington Post.

The prosecutor in the case reportedly said there was no evidence of sexual contact when the body was found, which would have made Eisenhauer eligible for the death penalty. Instead, Eisenhauer faces the possibility of life in prison for murder, 10 years for abduction and five years for concealment, according to The Roanoke Times. Keepers was indicted on a charge of accessory before the fact and concealing a body, which could result in life plus five years in prison.

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The murder case started with a missing persons report on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Several agencies became involved in the search for the 13-year-old Lovell, who required vital medication for a liver transplant, according to Blacksburg Police.

The girl’s family members said they discovered she was missing when they tried to administer the medication Wednesday morning and found the dresser pushed against her bedroom door.

Her remains were found Saturday, Jan. 30, just over the state line in Surry County, North Carolina.

The preliminary cause of Lovell’s death was stabbing.

Prosecutors alleged that Keepers and Eisenhauer planned the murder, which involved him luring the girl out of her apartment thinking she was going on a date, then slitting her throat at a site that the two suspects picked out together before dumping her body.

Trials are set for both Keepers and Eisenhauer in early 2017. She will have pretrial hearings starting Jan. 17, while he will begin motions hearings on Feb. 8, according to the ABC affiliate in Virginia.

The prosecutor in the case has reportedly said that she will not offer plea deals in the case.

Pictured, David E. Eisenhauer and Natalie M. Keepers. Photo Credit: Montgomery County, VA, Jail.