Murder Indictment In SIU Student's Mysterious 2014 Death
(CBS) -- For three years, a Morton Grove family has fought to see a man charged with murdering their 19-year-old son, a student at Southern Illinois University.
Now, a grand jury has indicted that man.
"My God, my son finally got justice and heaven is happy today," says Lovely Varughese.
She is the mother of Pravin Varughese, the SIU student whose body was found in 2014 in a wooded area in Carbondale.
The initial autopsy said he died from hypothermia. But the family had always believed he was beaten by a man who gave him a ride.
A special prosecutor took the case to a grand jury, and now 22-year-old Gaege Bethune of Eldorado, Illinois, has been indicted on two felony counts of murder, according to a news release issued Thursday.
"We had to fight and fight, and the person who did this to my son was free for 3 ½ years. I feel my son had a voice today, finally," Lovely Varughese says.
Bethune bonded out of jail after posting 10 percent of his $1 million bond. He is expected in court Tuesday.
