Mizzou freshman from Illinois found dead in his dorm during first week of class
Police at the University of Missouri have identified a student found dead in his dorm room this week as 18-year-old Erik Severson, a freshman from Aurora, Illinois.
Police were called to Excellence Hall, where Severson lived, about 4 p.m. on Wednesday and found the student unresponsive. Severson was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
The university said no foul play was suspected in the death.
“We have not yet heard the determination of cause of death,” said university spokesman Christian Basi.
A cause of death will be determined by the Boone County Medical Examiner.
On Thursday, a GoFundMe account was launched by Carolyn Lovelace, whose son and daughter are MU students on the Columbia campus. Lovelace said she and Severson’s mother belong to a private Facebook group for parents of students set to graduate in 2023.
“As a parent, I can’t even imagine something like this,” Lovelace said. “It’s just an unbelievable situation and you just want to help the family any way you can.”
On Friday, the account had raised $1,820 of its $5,000 goal.
This story was originally published August 23, 2019 at 5:01 PM.
