Roommates Testify in Case of Strangled Mary Washington Student

Two former roommates of the man accused of slaying a third roommate last April testified against him at a preliminary hearing earlier this week, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Kathryn Erwin and Holly Aleksonis both shared detailed testimony regarding the abduction and strangling of former roommate and Mary Washington student Grace Rebecca Mann, 20, of McLean.

Steven Vander Briel, 31, the fourth roommate in the group, has been charged with abducting and strangling Mann. According to the AP, Fredericksburg General District Court Judge John S. Stevens found probable cause to send the case to a grand jury and Circuit Court.

Erwin and Aleksonis testified they returned to the home they shared with Mann and Vander Briel on April 17 and found it in disarray. Upon looking further into the unusual mess, both women said they headed to Aleksonis’ bedroom but got no response after knocking on the door.

Eventually, the women testified, one of them turned the doorknob and Vander Briel swiftly emerged, closing the door to Aleksonis’ room behind him. He was said to be dripping sweat at the time.

Vander Briel told the girls he had gotten into a verbal altercation with Mann that had escalated to him slapping her, and her biting his hand in response. Vander Briel noted to the women he had to defend himself against Mann’s attack.

He then asked Erwin and Aleksonis what they would do if Mann did not return, and both women testified his question confused them.

When they entered Aleksonis’ room, both women found Mann beneath a comforter with her hands bound, a plastic bag over her head and more plastic bags crammed into her mouth.

Erwin testified she began attending to Mann while Aleksonis called 911. Vander Briel fled from the house but was later captured by police.

The case gained attention in the weeks that followed Mann’s death when a Title IX complaint was filed against Mary Washington. The complaint, according to the AP, stated Mary Washington — a public university — failed to act to a string of sexual and physical threats made on social media sites directed to members of Feminists United on Campus.

Mann was the leader of that group.

Mary Washington President Richard V. Hurley has since denied the university was indifferent to the threats. Attorneys for Feminists United told the AP they don’t know if Mann’s slaying was connected to the threats.