Ex-Virginia Tech student pleads no contest in girl’s killing

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — A former Virginia Tech student has pleaded no contest in the 2016 killing of a 13-year-old girl.
News outlets report that David Eisenhauer entered his plea Friday to all three charges against him in the stabbing death of Nicole Lovell: first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body.
The plea came on the fourth day of testimony in his trial. Prosecutors told jurors Eisenhauer killed Lovell because he was afraid she would expose his improper relationship with the underage girl.
A plea of no contest means a defendant acknowledges there’s enough evidence to convict him, but doesn’t admit he committed the crime. The plea has the same effect as a guilty plea.
Natalie Keepers, who also attended Virginia Tech, has been charged as an accessory and is scheduled to go on trial in September.