Murder Charge for Kennett Square Teen in Girlfriend’s Death at Millersville University

Autopsy results show that Karlie Hall had been strangled.

Karlie Hall via Facebook / Gregorio Orrostieta mugshot / Hall and Orrostieta via Facebook

From left: Karlie Hall via Facebook | Gregorio Orrostieta mugshot | Hall and Orrostieta via Facebook

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman has charged Kennett Square’s Gregorio Orrostieta with criminal homicide in the death of his 18-year-old girlfriend, Karlie Hall of Chadds Ford, who was killed in her dorm room at Millersville University on Sunday morning.

Orrostieta, 19, had been previously charged only with aggravated assault while authorities sorted through his story and awaited autopsy results on Monday. His bail had been set at $1.5 million. Now that those results are in, bail has been denied, and Orrostieta will face a murder charge.

The Kennett High School graduate had blood all over him when first-responders arrived at 5:20 a.m. on Sunday morning after Orrostieta called to report a cardiac arrest. According to court records, Orrostieta told police that he had pushed Hall, causing her to fall and hit her head, and that he had also backhanded her.

But in a news conference on Monday, Stedman said that Orrostieta had “not been truthful” with investigators. “The injuries were far greater than a backhand slap and a push,” he insisted, explaining that Hall had died of strangulation and traumatic injuries.

According to Stedman, other students reported a struggle to the dorm staff shortly after 2 a.m., and an employee went to check on Hall, whose roommate was away. But there was no answer at the door. Police showed up about three hours later. Stedman said that video evidence made it clear that no one else had entered the room during that time, pointing to the boyfriend as the lone suspect. “I have no idea what he was doing during that 2 1/2 hours,” Stedman said.

Orrostieta remains in Lancaster County Jail. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for February 19th.

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