Death in Ivory Tower

UPDATE:  President Steve Knapp has released a statement on the death of Laura Treanor. The statement has been posted in full below:

By now most of you have heard the sad news of the death of 19-year-old Laura Treanor, a junior in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences who was majoring in journalism. Laura passed away earlier today. This tragedy has touched us all in ways that words cannot describe.

Laura was a vibrant member of our student body who served as a contributing editor to the GW Hatchet and was a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority.

A memorial mass will be conducted on Tuesday, January 27, at 5 p.m. in the Newman Center chapel at 2210 F Street, NW.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura's family, her many friends on campus, and all those who knew and loved her. The loss of any young person is devastating and reminds us all to cherish each day, to take care of each other, and to hold fast to our families and friends.

Also, a final update was sent to students this evening by UPD.  According to the update, the MPD detective investigating the tragic death says there was no apparent trauma, and it appears she died of natural causes.

The exact cause and manner of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia.

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UPDATE:  The University has released the following statement regarding the incident in Ivory Tower this morning.

"The University is deeply saddened to report the death of GW student Laura Treanor, a junior from Yorktown Heights, NY. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this incident. Because the cause of death has not yet been determined, MPD has technically classified this as a “suspicious death.” The student’s room will be closed until the investigation is complete.

Members of the GW community who are affected by this tragedy may contact the University Counseling Center at (202) 994-5300 or http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/."

A memorial will be held for Laura on Tuesday night at 5pm at the Newman Center chapel.

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According to an Alert DC message sent at 9:37 this morning, MPD and UPD are investigating the death of a GW student in Ivory Tower. We will have more information as it becomes available.