The sentence hearing for the woman convicted in 2009 for the deaths of three Eastern international students will take place at 1:30 p.m. today.

On March 21, 2009, Priya Darshini Muppavarapu, Anusha Anumolu and Anitha Lakshmi Veerapaneni were traveling on Dougherty Ferry Road in St. Louis when Christine L. Miller, an off-duty police officer driving in the wrong lane, crashed into their vehicle, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Miller was reportedly intoxicated.

Miller pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault in the second degree on Dec. 9, 2010.

The women were in St. Louis for spring break visiting Nitesh Adusumill, who was the driver of the car and the sole survivor of the crash.

Scott Rosenblum, the attorney representing Miller, was not available for comment this week.

In the past, Rosenblum has said he will not comment on the case until after the sentence hearing.

As the sentencing approaches, an Eastern professor remembers the lives of the young women.

Peter Ling Liu, the graduate coordinator in the technology department, said the news of the deaths of the three international students deeply saddened him.

After hearing about the crash, Liu remembers being very shocked and saddened, though he remembers how supportive the Eastern faculty was.

“The campus community was very supportive for our students after the tragic crash,” Liu said.

He said he wanted to thank President Bill Perry and the counseling center at Eastern, for all of their support after the women’s death.

Also, Liu said he would like to emphasize that Muppavarapu, Anumolu, and Veerapaneni were excellent students at Eastern and were a great addition to the program.

Liu said after the crash the technology department was paying close attention to the case and he said he plans to follow the outcome of the sentence hearing closely.

Many students who knew the women personally have graduated or went home to their countries, Liu said.

Elizabeth Edwards can be reached at 581-2812 or eaedwards@eiu.edu

Sue Songer, then an international student adviser, wipes off tears during the April 27, 2009, memorial for three international students that were killed as Anupama Makineni, then a chemistry graduate student, looks on at a photo compilation of the three

(more…)