Missing Purdue Student Found Dead in Lafayette Parking Lot

Police tape in a file photo. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

A Purdue University student was found dead on the morning of Jan. 24 in what appears to be a suicide, the West Lafayette Police Department said, according to The Exponent.

Tavon Fields, a 21-year-old junior, was found in a parking lot less than 10 miles southeast of the university, near South Ninth Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway, Lt. Jonathan Eager said.

Eager said Fields’s death is likely to be a suicide. Some members of the Fields family have since confirmed via social media that Fields had committed suicide.

Fields was reported missing earlier in the week. His father, Sharif Fields, said in a Facebook post he had been missing since Jan. 21.

“The West Lafayette Police went above & beyond & they took the facts we gave them & gave 110%,” Field’s sister, Timara Turman, wrote in response to a Facebook comment. “It was as reported unfortunately my brother was depressed & tired.”

Turman again wrote that her brother took his own life in response to suspicion of foul play on social media surrounding his death.

“This is my little brother we kept some information private but yes he did commit suicide. It’s just a realization to check on your strong friends & family,” she wrote in a comment.

Fields is survived by his family, girlfriend and their 3-week-old daughter.

“I’ll miss you so much but I’ll make sure both of our babies know everything there is to know about you ❤❤,” Turman wrote in a Facebook post.

Fields’s mother, Tisha Turman Croom, said the family will support his girlfriend Mikala and their newborn child.

“He was excited &great father for short time to Ameerah. Hold your head up Mikala. We gonna be there for you & baby.We love you and so did Tavon Fields very much.❤❤❤”

On Jan. 25, his sister created a GoFundMe page to help the family cover the funeral costs and help his girlfriend with their 3-week-old baby. As of Jan. 27, the fundraiser has raised over $7,000 of the $8,000 goal.

“If you google his name, you‘ll see the tragic story but right under that you’ll find a story about the type of man he was; a hero, the strong friend, determined, intelligent man. Unfortunately Tavon was overwhelmed & took his own life,” the GoFundMe page managed by Turman says.

Any excess funds will go to a scholarship fund in memory of Field. Turman said details of the fund will be released at a later time.

Fields was a double major at the Polytechnic Institute, according to the GoFundMe page. He was studying Computer Graphics Technology, according to his Facebook account.

Fields made headlines in The Exponent in late 2017 for chasing down a wallet thief on campus and subduing the repeat offender until Purdue police officers arrived.

“I don’t think he did that to be heroic,” His longtime friend and roommate, Khari Stewart, said at the time. “I think that was his natural instinct. Just Tavon being Tavon.”

From NTD.com