Police rule Ga. college student's death a homicide

ATLANTA — Police at Valdosta State University have concluded that a 17-year-old found dead on campus was murdered.

Authorities initially did not declare foul play after Jasmine Benjamin was found dead around noon last Sunday in a study room of her dormitory. But Maj. Brian Childress, an investigator with campus police, told several news outlets that the preliminary results of an autopsy led authorities to declare her death a homicide.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiners conducted the autopsy. A toxicology analysis is not complete.

Childress told the Gwinnett Daily Post (http://bit.ly/WKyUgC) that his agency has identified several individuals of interest, but not zeroed in on anyone to arrest.

The Atlanta Joual-Constitution (http://bit.ly/10sBRSQ ) reports that police have established a timeline leading up to her death. Police have not released that information.