McCowan, clad in a dark, striped jumpsuit and handcuffed, appeared before Ingham County District Court Magistrate James Pahl on a closed-circuit television as relatives fought back tears nearby.
One woman sobbed heavily throughout the proceedings despite others’ attempts to console her.

McCowan faces life in prison on open murder charges, which allows a jury to determine the degree of murder.

Pahl noted McCowan had no criminal history. He is being held without bond at the Ingham County Jail.

During the proceeding, McCowan’s lawyer, Chris Bergstrom, said bond would be handled at later date. He declined to comment on why this decision was made or anything else about the case because of the “sensitive situation” at hand.

McCowan is scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 5 and a preliminary examination on March 7, which will determine if enough evidence is present to move forward to trial.

Although police did not respond to a request for comment, prior to the arraignment Meridian Township police Sgt. Andrew McCready said Singler was acquaintances with his attacker.

A Twitter account believed to be McCowan’s, based on location, photos and name, last tweeted, “‘@MSUpartystories: This time of the night is when phone calls and texts are regretted in the morning.’ @AndySingAllDay” to an account believed to be Singler’s around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

The account believed to be Singler’s also included photos tweeted to McCowan’s supposed account.

A funeral for Singler is scheduled for Wednesday in his home town of Rochester, Mich., and friends previously said they hope to have some sort of memorial service for him.

Students memorialized Singler’s death by painting the rock on Farm Lane on Monday.

The painting also recognized geological sciences sophomore Anna Flory, who was found dead of unknown causes in her Bailey Street home Saturday.

“In Memory of Andrew and Anna” was written in white on a green background on the rock. On the back: “Spartans,” a heart and the date of their deaths were painted in white.

“I think painting the rock helps unite MSU when something like this happens,” elementary education freshman Megan Borgeson said. “Since it is a really big campus, we are able to come together and see a memorial for it, which makes everyone seem more connected through this.”

Staff reporter Christine LaRouere contributed to this report.