Collegiate Times

A judge ruled Friday that sufficient probable cause exists to take the first-degree murder case against Graduate Life Center stabbing suspect Haiyang Zhu to a grand jury.

Two witnesses described the Jan. 21 stabbing of Chinese graduate student Xin Yang in detail.Corey Cox, an Au Bon Pain employee who called 911 in response to the incident, testified that Zhu made an aggressive growling sound that drew his attention.

"He had lunged at her and was already attacking her with the knife," Cox said.

Cox testified that he "jumped down behind the counter to call for 911."

He remained on the phone with emergency services until police arrived.

"Each time I'd peer over at him, he was just staring at her face, cutting away at her," Cox said.

He said the initial growl was the only sound he heard from Zhu, a Tech graduate student who was listed as Yang's emergency contact.

"[Yang was] not putting up much of a fight," Cox said. "Not making a sound. Nothing."

Virginia Tech police officer Nicole Irvine was the first to arrive at the GLC.

Cox testified that he noticed Yang's remains as he crawled out of the caf after ending his call with emergency services.

"All I saw was her, fully decapitated in a pool of blood," Cox said.

Irvine also testified about her arrival at the scene.

"I saw a body laying," Irvine said. "And I saw a gentleman walking towards me carrying a head in his hand."

She said Zhu was holding the head by the hair with his left hand. Irvine said Zhu complied with her requests, and she did not fully draw her weapon. Zhu also informed her of other weapons in his nearby backpack.

Irvine testified that at the magistrate's office later that night, Zhu commented in the present tense that Yang was not his girlfriend yet.

An autopsy report indicated Yang had defensive wounds on her hands and upper body. Cox testified the knife was not from the cafe, which the prosecution argued showed premeditation.