Mystery of student’s murder solved with help from her Apple Watch

The murder of 21-year-old US student Ally Kostial was solved with help from her Apple Watch, which led authorities to the capture of her killer.

Investigators solved the mystery of a college student’s murder with help from her Apple Watch.

Ally Kostial, 21, was fatally shot at least nine times by fellow student Brandon Theesfeld in July of 2019 at the University of Mississippi.

After Kostial was found dead at a lake 45 minutes from campus, investigators couldn’t find her cell phone in her apartment.

They did find her Apple Watch, allowing them to piece together the puzzle through her troubling text messages, The Sun reports.

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Ally Kostial attended the University of Mississippi.

“The hardest thing is to go back and read her messages,” Lafayette County District lawyer Ben Creekmore told CBS News.

Some of Kostial’s final text messages were to Theesfeld, who she was casually involved with on and off throughout her time at “Ole Miss.”

The text messages showed that Kostial planned on seeing Theesfeld on the night of her death, according to investigators.

Upon digging further into the pair’s texts, authorities learned that Kostial had told Theesfeld three months before her murder that she thought she was pregnant, according to investigator Jarrett Bundren.

Brandon Theesfeld pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Picture: Lafayette County Sheriff's Office

Over the course of the three months, Kostial begged Theesfeld to discuss the matter in person. He finally agreed to see her on the night before her death.

The information found on the Apple Watch led investigators to take Theesfeld into custody after he tried to flee the state.

Police said he was caught at a gas station with blood on him and a gun in his truck that matched the description of the one used to kill Kostial.

“I wish I could have kept her away from this evil, callous, scheming, ungrateful, sinister and violent, and corrupt monster,” her mother said in a statement in court.

Theesfeld originally faced a capital murder charge but was eventually charged with first-degree murder in August of 2019, to which he pleaded guilty and admitted to fatally shooting Kostial.

Ally's Apple Watch led investigators to her killer

Ally told Brandon that she was pregnant three months before her death. Picture: Supplied

At one point in the trial, Theesfeld spoke directly to Kostial’s relatives, saying: “I am sincerely sorry for the pain I’ve caused while taking Ally from you.”

Kostial was not pregnant at the time of her death, according to police reports.

CBS’s Michelle Miller will report on this case and the digital trail that led investigators to Theesfeld in a US TV special 48 Hours called What Ally Kostial Didn’t Know.

The broadcast will include an interview with Ally’s parents, Cindy and Keith Kostial.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.