The Miami Student Established 1826
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2015
VOLUME 142 NO. 32
The Becca we remember Family and friends celebrate “the girl who could light up a room” MEMORIAL
REIS THEBAULT NEWS EDITOR
EDITORS
Love for people Becca grew up in the outdoors of New Albany, Ohio, where her desire to protect the environment took root. She spent her childhood fishing and hiking by her brother’s side, and her love of nature only grew as she got older. “She would always bring home stray animals, birds, squirrels, cats, dogs,” Marlene Eldemire, Becca’s mom, said. “And she loved flowers. She would always bring me flowers. And I made sure to put them in a vase every time.” Becca always carried an animal bed in her car, said Marlene, in case she came across a stray cat or dog that needed help finding its way back home. Becca had a soft spot for the environment and anything living, said Jacqueline. “It didn’t matter what it was
— an animal, a vegetable — if it was living, she loved it,” Jacqueline said. Becca and Jacqueline were neighbors in Peabody Hall their first year, and quickly became close friends, the first Jacqueline made at Miami. Becca’s genuine, forthcoming and lively personality could have a lasting impact on anyone, Jacqueline said. Becca’s mom echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Becca’s rare ability to make a place in her life for everyone she met. “You didn’t befriend Becca — you became a part of her life,” Marlene said. Becca had a unique relationship with her older brother Josh, who graduated from Miami in 2014. They fought as siblings do, and Josh protected her like an older brother would, but what made their relationship special was the way in which Becca supported him. “Josh has always been shy, and
when they were little, he would be afraid to ask for things like a drink refill,” Marlene said. “Whenever we went to McDonalds, she would go up to the counter, her head barely reaching above it, and would say so loudly, ‘Can I please have a refill for my brother?’” Junior Jenna Nicholson, one of Becca’s roommates at Level 27 Apartments, recalled the friendship they shared. “She was really easy to talk to, and she never judged you,” Nicholson said. “She always had something to say, and it was always the right thing to say.” You can’t talk about Becca without mentioning the word passion, said her grand-big from Phi Sigma Pi Honor Fraternity, senior Julianne Ballog. “People say this about people, how they walk into a room and they light it up,” Julianne said. “But, Becca really did that.” MEMORIAL »PAGE 9
Husband, father, regional student dies DEATH REBECCA HUFF
FOR THE MIAMI STUDENT
Criminal Justice and Business student Derek Huffman died Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015 at 3:15 a.m. Only 35 years old, he left behind a wife and four children, two of which were his step children. Huffman’s body was found in the Cove Motel on 2800 Dixie Highway in Hamilton. The cause of death is not confirmed, but police are investigating it as a drug overdose.
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY
Questions, few answers in police investigation CRIME
VICTORIA SLATER ABBEY GINGRAS AMANDA HANCOCK Most Miami students aspire to be business people, lawyers, doctors, scientists or authors. But not junior Rebecca Eldemire — she had something different in mind. “One time, Becca knocked on my door, and told me that she just really wanted to be a farmer,” said junior Jacqueline Morgan, Becca’s close friend. “I said, ‘No, Becca, you’re not going to be a farmer!’ But that’s always what she wanted.” As the community — friends, family and strangers alike — copes with the untimely death of 21-year-old Becca, her love for Earth and the environment, her passion for learning and her effervescent nature, carries on.
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“There’s no confirmation on the drug that was used,” Detective Mark Nichols said. “We are still waiting on toxicology and other lab reports.” Huffman’s wife, Anessa, released a statement following her husband’s death.
“I’m certain now that you found the peace you were searching for,” she said.
Robert Rusbosin, Regional Senior Associate Dean of Students, expressed his condolences. “The entire campus is very sad
[about the death of] Derek Huffman, and our counseling services are available for any student who needs to meet with a professional counselor to assist in their loss,” he said. The Student Government Association (SGA) honored Huffman with a moment of silence. SGA will also be sending a signed card to the Huffman family. “I think the family is coming together and dealing with it the best way possible or the best way they can,” Rusbosin said.
Since Larry E. Tipton II shot and killed junior Rebecca Eldemire, then himself, on Sunday morning, OPD’s investigation and subsequent silence has raised more questions than it has answered. The first, and most prominent, is: what happened Saturday night? At a press conference Monday, OPD’s spokesman Sgt. Jon Varley gave reporters a basic account of the apparent murder-suicide. But, when pressed for details, he said he had planned to tell reporters more, but the City of Oxford’s law director Stephen McHugh instructed him against it. McHugh did not return calls requesting more information. Then, when asked for details again on Thursday, Varley said he had nothing more to add. That leaves troubling gaps in the community’s understanding of the tragedy. Here’s what is known and not known, based on police records and Varley’s account. At 9:56 p.m. Saturday, Eldemire called 911 from the apartment she shared with three roommates at Level 27, a mile south of campus. She told the dispatcher that her exboyfriend was coming to see her and that she was nervous. Eldemire said Tipton was 15-20 minutes away. “He’s coming in from out of town and he wants to talk to me,” she said to the dispatcher. “He obviously knows where I live and I’m just a little nervous about the situation.” Eldemire told the dispatcher that Tipton didn’t say anything about coming there to hurt her and that he had no history of being violent. “Have you guys been fighting or, why are you nervous?” the dispatcher asked. “Well, yeah, I broke up with him today,” Eldemire responded. She said she drove to Columbus to talk to him that morning and, during the encounter, he was “a little violent.” “He was just throwing things around,” she said. Then, the dispatcher asked, “Do you know if he has any weapons or anything?” “He does own guns, but I don’t think he would bring any with him,” Eldemire said. At this point, it is unclear exactly how many guns Tipton owned, or if he owned any at all. According to OPD documents, officers who searched Tipton’s apartment recovered a “bag with
misc. live rounds” and a “bag with misc. gun manuals and receipts.” “I was just wondering if I could get a police officer here, just to make sure everything’s okay,” Eldemire said. When officers arrived at Eldemire’s apartment, they waited for Tipton in the parking lot, according to OPD records. It is not clear whether or not the responding officers knew Eldemire told the dispatcher that Tipton owned guns. When he arrived, Eldemire asked the officers to escort her and Tipton to her apartment. Once in the apartment, Eldemire, Tipton and the officers had a “brief conversation,” an OPD press release said. Eldemire then told the officers they were no longer needed and they could leave. OPD has not said whether officers searched Tipton or his car for weapons. That night, before leaving for Oxford, Tipton had left a suicide note in his Columbus-area apartment, a search warrant inventory said. What this suicide note said is also unknown. At 8:52 the next morning, OPD received another 911 call — this time from Eldemire’s roommates. “My friend and her boyfriend were having some issues last night and then he ended up spending the night,” one roommate said to the dispatcher. “And then, about 10 minutes ago, we heard a bunch of really loud noises from her room and then an alarm went off in our apartment.” It’s not clear what exactly set the smoke alarms off, whether it was the smoke from or the blast of a gun. “It scared the living daylights out of us,” the roommate said. The roommate said the bangs sounded “like they were taking a fire extinguisher to a wall.” Either way, Eldemire’s door was locked and no one was answering, her roommates said. When OPD officers entered the room, they found Eldemire dead from multiple gunshot wounds and Tipton dead from a single gunshot wound. The officers found a revolver next to Tipton. The gun had a capacity of seven rounds. Just two rounds remained unfired. When police searched Tipton’s apartment in Taylor Station, Ohio, they found an empty Smith & Wesson gun case and the suicide note. OPD is continuing to investigate the case as a murder-suicide, Varley said.
In 1988, The Miami Student reported the Oxford City Council lifted the town’s emergency water supply status, though there was disagreement over the decision. Councilman Alan Kyger said the emergency status should be lifted since it was already being disregarded. “Our residents don’t even know it’s going on.”
UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY
CULTURE
ALCOHOL TASK FORCE COLLECTS DATA
HALAL MEAT AT WALMART CAUSES CONTROVERSY
“GAME OF THRONES” HITS BIG SCREEN
THE IMPORTANCE OF REPORTING
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