Officials investigating death of student found after seven days


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The entrance to the deceased student’s living space inside of the Seaver Residence Hall at the Health Sciences Campus was covered with plastic. Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. Photo by Karan Nevatia.

Officials are investigating the death of a student at a residence hall on the Health Sciences Campus, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Thursday.

Jacob Kelley, a 24-year-old first-year master’s student, was found at Seaver Residence Hall on Wednesday afternoon. 

Detective David Alvarez, a detective with LAPD’s Hollenbeck Community Police Station said that the cleaning crew of the residence hall detected a foul scent and found the student dead in his apartment. He had been deceased for approximately seven days.

The Los Angeles Coroner’s office has taken over the investigation after a preliminary examination by LAPD.

Alvarez also said that the body showed no sign of trauma and that the room displayed no sign of a struggle. LAPD is currently awaiting an autopsy to discover the cause of his death.

Rohit Varma, dean of the Keck School of Medicine, sent out a letter today notifying students, faculty and staff at Keck of Kelley’s death. Varma also wrote that the student’s family had been contacted.

“Please keep the Kelley family in your thoughts during this difficult time,” the letter read.

The Seaver Residence Hall declined to comment.

Terry Nguyen contributed to this report.

This article has been updated to reflect the correct date the body was found. A previous version stated that the body was discovered on Tuesday afternoon and LAPD confirmed details on Wednesday. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.
This article has also been updated to state the correct position of David Alvarez. A previous version stated that he was a detective with the LAPD’s Robbery and Homicide Division. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.