Metropolitan Police reported the arrest of a suspect in the murder of GW graduate student Daniel Krug June 12.
MPD officials said they charged 21-year old Stephen Patrick Burciaga, a former University of Maryland student, with murder after entering his College Park, Maryland apartment and questioning him that morning.
Robbery appeared to be the motive of the crime, according to an MPD press release at press time.
Krug, 30, was found strangled in his K Street apartment June 1 after he failed to show up for a charity race and a wedding that day. He was set to begin his second year in the international business program.
Members of the MPD Violent Crimes unit and Prince George’s County police entered Burciaga’s apartment, at the 4500 block of Calvert Road, with a search warrant at 7:20 a.m.
Burciaga was already under investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for other offenses.
Police report they recovered items missing from Krug’s apartment at Burciaga’s residence. NBC4 has reported that Krug’s computer was stolen.
Maryland university police said Burciaga was registered as a student until December 2001.
Burciaga was arraigned in D.C. Superior Court June 13. MPD officials report that the investigation of Krug’s death will continue.
University Police Director Dolores Stafford said Krug’s murder is the first homicide on or near campus in at least ten years – as far back as records go.
GW freshman Jon Rizzo was killed last July near his hometown of Kinsgston, Mass. by 41-year-old Gary Sampson, who murdered Rizzo and two other victims in the New England area.
Stafford said UPD accompanied D.C. police to Krug’s apartment June 1, but played no part in the investigation.
She said UPD will be briefing incoming freshmen about “safety precautions and common sense practices” at Colonial Inaugurations and noted that GW residence hall security include electronic access control, cameras and officers every two hours.
“GW is way ahead of the curve with regard to the level of security services provided by other institutions,” she said.
Friends said Krug, an Easton, Pa. native, “always put others ahead of himself.”
“He had such a big heart,” friend Devenjn Dsouza said. “He’d never think twice. If he had it, it was yours.”
Funeral services were held for Krug June 7.
