Student Stabbed in Louisiana Dorm Room

  • By Matt Jones
  • April 12, 2021

On the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University, located in Hammond, La., an SLU student was arrested after police say she stabbed the person she was dating. Elizabeth Grace Johnson, 18, faces charges of aggravated battery after an April 3 incident with Louisiana State University student Draven Upchurch that placed him in the hospital with eight stab wounds.

Authorities called Johnson and Upchurch “dating partners.” Johnson was arrested at North Oaks Medical Center, and Upchurch was admitted in critical condition and kept there for surgery, according to a police report.

According to Facebook updates from Upchurch’s mother, Angie Fasullo, the surgery lasted more than four hours. He received multiple units of blood, doctors removed three small portions of lung and a small portion of colon, and his stomach was repaired. Her updates say that Upchurch coded twice during the surgery.

Johnson has bonded out of jail, and she has been placed on interim suspension from Southeastern Louisiana University pending the investigation.

As of Wednesday, April 7, Upchurch’s abdomen had been successfully closed, and he no longer required use of a ventilator. SLU said in a statement released on Thursday, April 8, that the stabbing was “an isolated incident.”

“This incident currently remains under investigation, and the student will go through the proper university disciplinary process as well as the criminal justice process,” said the statement. “The university process may result in disciplinary measures up to and including expulsion, but that is not yet complete. While the incident remains under investigation, the student has been placed on interim suspension from the University, which bars access to campus and class pending disciplinary resolution.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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