The 19-year-old MSU student accused of rape is not guilty, a jury ruled Thursday in the Ingham County Circuit Court.

After three days of testimony, the jury deliberated for about two hours before delivering the verdict that acquitted Travis Eichten, a marketing freshman.

The case stemmed from a Sept. 2 incident in which, according to testimony from the female student involved and witnesses, the female student and Eichten had sex, which she said was not consensual.

"This has been a horrible experience for everyone involved in it," Eichten said after the trial. "Myself, my family, my friends, all of my friends that stuck by me, my loved ones, and I'm just glad it's over."

In testimonies, the court learned that after Eichten and the female student were smoking marijuana and drinking at a fraternity party, they walked home together with others. The female student told the jury she blacked out in the middle of the party and woke up mid-fall from Eichten's loft, covered in her urine, and saw her underwear across the room.

Eichten informed the student the next day that they'd had sex, which he thought was consensual. The female student went to Olin Health Center when she discovered bruising on her arm, leg and inner thigh and pain in her shoulder, and officials helped her file the initial police report.

Witness testimony continued Thursday morning, with friends testifying in Eichten's defense. Eichten chose not to testify.

Eichten was expressionless for a moment after the verdict was read and then hugged both of his lawyers at length. His father also was visibly emotional.

The accuser, a 19-year-old female general business administration and pre-law freshman, sat with her mother and a young man who was not related to her. As the verdict was read, all were expressionless. After the trial, the student looked upset, tearing up at points.

The student wouldn't comment, her attorney, Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Flores, said after the case.

"I believe it was a fair and just verdict," Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said later Thursday afternoon. "I also have the utmost respect for the young lady. Understanding the difficulty we might have in trial, she still chose to go forward."

In the end, the jurors found there was not enough information to charge Eichten with the crime. But Lansing resident Ann King, one of the jurors, said although she officially voted Eichten as not guilty, it was only because of a lack of evidence. She said she believes he was in the wrong.

"It had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and it didn't do that - because of the evidence presented," King said.

Lawyers made their closing statements for about an hour and a half, during which both sides agreed it was a trial of whether Eichten's accuser had been in a state to consent to sex - not if they had sex - and whether Eichten should have known what state she was in.

Eichten's attorney, Frank Reynolds, said he was pleased with the verdict.

Reynolds said in closing statements that there were some bad decisions made by both the defendant and the accuser that night, but that didn't mean criminal actions took place. He told the jury to listen for inconsistencies in the accuser's accounts of that night.

"The fact she said she doesn't remember, maybe it's true, maybe it's not," Reynolds said in his closing statement. "At no point has (Eichten) tried to hide his conduct that night."

Both sides said a turning point in the case was that the female student went out with Eichten a second time.

Lauren Phillips can be reached at phill383@msu.edu. Tina Reed can be reached at reedtina@msu.edu.