MSU student found dead in Spartan Village; cause unknown
Detective Gus Fernandez (right) gives instructions to Officer Riggs (left) outside an apartment in Spartan Village Wednesday where a 22-year-old man died under conditions the police have called “suspicious.” Detective Fernandez, seen wearing yellow shoe-covers to prevent scene-contamination, had no comment on the cause of the man’s death.
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The death of an MSU student found in his Spartan Village apartment was not being treated as a homicide, MSU police said Wednesday night.
Police found the body of Don Ausman, a 22-year-old interdisciplinary studies in social science and international studies senior, in his apartment after responding to a call to report a suspicious death at about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the 1615 building off Crescent Road in Spartan Village.
As of Wednesday night, police had not released information about the cause of death, but said they had no reason to believe the community was at risk.
During a town hall meeting Wednesday night at the Spartan Village Community Center, MSU police Sgt. Shaun Mills said police are not investigating Ausman’s death as a homicide.
“Right now, we’re not looking for any one person or persons,” Mills said.
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MSU police crime scene investigation units were investigating Ausman’s apartment into Wednesday evening. MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said Ausman’s autopsy is scheduled for today.
Ausman, of Northville, Mich., had quit his job at Clara’s Lansing Station, 637 E. Michigan Ave., just last week, manager Jennifer Elmer said.
Elmer said she last saw Ausman on Sunday and said he appeared to be in great spirits.
“He just seemed fine and was really very happy and smiling,” Elmer said. “I gave him a real big hug when I saw him. This is just a huge tragedy.”
McGlothian-Taylor said police had notified Ausman’s family. The family could not be reached for comment Wednesday by The State News.
Dave Morris, a history senior, lived in the apartment directly above Ausman. Morris said he was shocked to hear about Ausman’s death, and said he had no reason to believe anything was wrong until his roommate told him about a crime alert MSU police distributed via e-mail and text message.
Morris said he and his roommate were not particularly close with Ausman, but the two had been to Ausman’s apartment before. He said Ausman was friendly with both of them.
“(Ausman and his roommate) would have parties over the summer,” Morris said. “He was a good guy.”
About 25 people attended the town hall meeting Wednesday night to seek more information about Ausman’s death.
In addition to questioning Mills about the police investigation, those in attendance were given information from the MSU Counseling Center about how to contact grief counselors.
Several of Ausman’s neighbors attended the meeting looking for answers, but Mills said he could not give more specific details than what had already been released.
Elmer said she was in shock over the news of Ausman’s death. She said Ausman was loved by co-workers and will be missed.
“Don was just a very happy, generous person who was so wonderful and full of life,” Elmer said.
“He was a great kid that people loved. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Don.”
Commentary
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SoCal Spartan
(01/28/09 1:50pm)Report
I used to live there and since I moved out there’s been armed robberies, and now a death…is EL going down the tubes, WTF
I always thought Spartan Village was SAFE
Varun
(01/28/09 3:51pm)Report
I stay at the 1615 Apt block and never saw anyone quite active in that apartment. I know most of the people stay at 1615, Spartan Village except this one person.
qing
(01/28/09 4:23pm)Report
any new information~
Now I am just in Spartan Village. I don’t know what is happening.
MSUPD
(01/28/09 4:25pm)Report
CRIME ALERT UPDATE
01/28/09
MSU Police:
EAST LANSING, Mich. – At 9:15 a.m. this morning the Michigan State University Police responded to Spartan Village Apartments on the report of a suspicious death.
The deceased was identified as a 22 year old male MSU student and the family has been notified. MSUPD Crime Scene Investigators remain on scene collecting evidence and an autopsy has been scheduled to assist in determining the cause of death. Based on the information available at this time, police continue to stress there is no reason to believe the community is at risk.
As additional information becomes available it can be located at www.police.msu.edu.
gary
(01/28/09 8:18pm)Report
I used to live there in 1426 but they tore it down… I miss state!
anon
(01/28/09 11:57pm)Report
Don was a truly excellent fellow. You always felt like you were doing alright when he was around.
RIP
mary
(01/28/09 11:58pm)Report
Don was an amazing person and his family is good friends with mine in Northville. I am a graduate of MSU and believe in the inherent good of people and the institution as well. Please keep them in your prayers.
Nero
(01/29/09 8:28am)Report
Don was an old co-worker and a great friend of mine. He is undoubtedly a great student and a kind person. His loss is truly a great tragedy. My condolences to his family.
Rest in peace my friend.
Andrea
(01/29/09 10:42am)Report
Don was an amazing person and friend. He was an inspiration and I will never forget his kind spirit, his love of animals, and his ability to make friends wherever he went. He reached out to those who looked as though they could use a friend. He was involved in so many campus activities and loved to learn about and experience new cultures. He had such an amazing plan for himself in this world. He was going to change the world for the better, and did things every single day to work toward that. He changed my world for the better. I will never forget you, Don.
qing
(01/29/09 10:55am)Report
What is the cause of the tragedy?
Emma
(01/29/09 12:05pm)Report
Wow, I’ve never had so little faith in MSU students. I’ll tell you that the way this article talked about him, “he was a great guy” and “he was so happy and friendly” cannot even begin to describe how great Don was. He was one of those people that made you forget all your worries instantly when you saw his goofy grin. He was smart and dedicated, but he would never take himself or anything around him too seriously. That is my favorite kind of person, and the kind of person this world really needs more of right now. But instead he was taken away. Shut up about how you used to live in that apt building or you do now and you don’t feel safe, blah blah blah. Stop thinking about yourselves and your ugg boots and northfaces for two seconds and understand that someone unbelievable is dead. Please.
lance
(01/29/09 12:26pm)Report
lame now is not the time to attack people. A great person just passed away. I you knew Don you would know how great he was. He has done more good then you will ever be able to do.
Sarah
(01/29/09 3:20pm)Report
I knew Don from HS in Northville. He was a great guy. He will truly be missed.
I am really saddened by the lack of compassion used in some of these posts. Someone died, please show some respect not only to the deceased but to those mourning the loss.
Brett
(01/29/09 4:11pm)Report
Don Juan the amazing astronaut, I only met a few times but he always made my night.
KC
(01/29/09 4:31pm)Report
I never met this kid but he appears to have been a really awesome person! I am so sorry for the loss to his family, friends, and our community as a whole!
Emma is right
(01/29/09 11:29pm)Report
Emma, you are 100% correct.
No one cares if you used to live in that building, as SoCal Spartan and gary boasted. Stop trying to turn this tragic death into a story about you. That is so disrespectful to the deceased and his family.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Don’s family and friends. RIP Don.
ct & Hanna
(01/31/09 5:11pm)Report
Our condolences to the family. you are in our prayers.
Kerry Z
(02/01/09 8:19pm)Report
Don was a very good friend of my son thru high school and most of his college days. They travelled to Ohio together, eat, played and grew up together learning much about life. I enjoyed playing pool and basketball with Don at my home and he was always a gentleman, always well mannered and a delight to have over our home. It is sad – so sad for this to happen. Not having closure – not having an answer is very tough. Please keep Don and his family in your prayers during these times. Love to them all.
I Agree with Emma
(02/02/09 6:33pm)Report
Emma you are right. Don is an amazing person. I could not NOT smile whenever he was around. I wish I could have made it to one of his disco parties…I’ll regret that. Peace out Don!
Saboor
(02/08/09 9:57pm)Report
Don was my group supervisor for the International Student Orientation this year. He was great. I made good friends with him and used to hang out with him later on. He made it easier for me and helped me adjust to the culture shock over here at MSU. This incident is an extremely tragic one. I’m sure everyone who knew him will miss him dearly. He was a gem of a person.