‘I know my son is innocent’: Family of suspected Ole Miss killer insists he did not murder Ally Kostial as police reveal mugshot

The suspect was arrested in Tennessee, about an hour and a half from the Ole Miss campus

Authorities in Lafayette County, Mississippi, have released the first mugshot of the man accused of killing University of Mississippi student Ally Kostial.

Meanwhile, Brandon Theesfeld’s father has insisted there was some kind of mistake, and that his son could not have killed the 21-year-old sorority sister, who was found dead with eight gunshot wounds on Saturday morning. A Lafayette County Sheriff’s deputy on a routine patrol found the body near a lake in a remote area about 30 miles from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford.

Until Tuesday, Theesfeld was also enrolled at Ole Miss, but the university suspended him after the arrest. On Tuesday afternoon, the suspect’s father spoke with WMC Action News 5, and said that he was traveling from Texas to Mississippi to support Brandon. He told a reporter that he believes his son is innocent, adding that he has reasons that he cannot discuss at this time.

“… I would ask everybody to please give him the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” Daniel Theesfeld said.

Authorities have not released any information about a possible motive for the apparent homicide.

According to KDSK, Theesfeld was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, which is about an hour and a half drive for the Oxford campus of Ole Miss.

Theesfeld appeared for his first court appearance on Tuesday morning, but he is reportedly still awaiting a bond hearing.

CrimeOnline will continue to provide updates when more information becomes available.

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