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Person of Interest Sought in Rowan Murder

Monday, October 29, 2007

GLASSBORO, NJ - October 29, 2007 (WPVI) -- Investigators say they are making significant progress in the search for the Rowan University campus killer. However, they still need the public's help.

Even though the normal class schedule resumed Monday, this remains a campus in mourning and pain.

The attack happened around 9:15 Saturday night behind the Triad Apartment building.

Police say a group of students had just left a party in Beau Rivage apartments and stopped at a convenience store on Old Heston Road. Upon leaving the store the students were approached by a group of men asking for directions to a party. 19-year-old sophomore Donald Farrell from Boonton, New Jersey stopped to help out, and as his friends kept walking the assailants attacked.

Farrell was punched once or twice in the face, as well as suffering injuries to the stomach. The suspects took Farrell's wallet and fled, leaving Donald laying face down in a pool of blood.

Farrell's friends called 911, and police say when they arrived on scene Donald was bleeding heavily from the head. He suffered massive brain swelling that cut off his ability to breath. Farrell was rushed to Cooper University Hospital where he was listed in serious condition, undergoing several overnight surgeries in an attempt to save his life. However, he died Sunday afternoon.

Police have released surveillance photos of a man they are calling a person of interest. The man in the ball cap and jacket with red sleeves was in a mini mart just before the attack. The four girls and one boy who were with Farrell at the time have identified him as one of at least two attackers.

Police are looking for at least two assailants among a group of 4 or 5 men. All suspects are described as African American men with dreadlocks in their early twenties. The individual who punched the victim is said to have been wearing a red baseball cap and a black hooded sweatshirt with a British flag on the left front side. His description is as follows:

Black man, approximately 18 to 20-years-old

Standing 5' 10" to 6' tall with a slim build

Facial features include pockmarks on cheeks and slight "scruffy" facial hair Police say it was a crime of opportunity. The university president says no amount of security could have stopped it.

Monday afternoon, the university community gathered for a group meeting in the gymnasium. Students were reassured about public safety and were provided with counseling resources.

There have been other assaults and robberies of students in recent weeks, but police say there've been no more than usual.

Donald Farrell's family has agreed to donate his organs, so that some good might come of this terrible tragedy.

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