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A football player, a killing and the elusive search for justice

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.

THE DOOR SWUNG open before he could knock, just as it had the first time Isimemen "Isi" Etute visited Apartment 207. That time, Etute had come for sex. Now, he wanted answers.

It was May 31, 2021, just after 10 p.m., and the apartment above Hokie Mart on North Main Street in Blacksburg, Virginia, was dark, save for a hint of light sneaking through a kitchen window. Etute, with his phone's flashlight on and stuffed in his pocket, walked inside, leaving two of his Virginia Tech football teammates in the hallway.