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Man charged with killing Ole Miss student from St. Louis pleads not guilty

Brandon Theesfeld entered the plea in a Mississippi courtroom Monday afternoon, according to NBC affiliate WMC.

OXFORD, Miss — The man charged with killing an Ole Miss student from St. Louis has pleaded not guilty.

Brandon Theesfeld entered the plea in an Oxford, Mississippi, courtroom Monday afternoon, according to NBC affiliate WMC.

Theesfeld is facing a capital murder charge in the death of Ally Kostial.

A grand jury indictment accused Theesfeld of kidnapping Kostial and then later shooting and killing Kostial. Her body was found July 20 near a lake about 30 minutes from her university's campus in Oxford, Mississippi.

Theesfeld also was a student at Ole Miss in the School of Business Administration, but has since been suspended from the school. He is originally from Texas.

Friends of Kostial described her and Theesfeld as being in an on-again, off-again relationship.

Shortly after he was charged, Theesfeld's father — a Dallas-area doctor — said his son is innocent and he had “evidence” to prove it. 

RELATED: ‘I know my son is innocent’ | Father of suspect in Ole Miss student’s murder releases statement

Theesfeld's attorney, Tony Farese, won't comment on that, but something he previously said in court could speak to his plan for a defense.

“We are also making a request for a psychiatric evaluation,” he told the judge when Theesfeld first appeared in court.

Farese waived a chance at bond for Theesfeld to expedite a psychiatric evaluation by the state hospital.

“Is he competent to stand trial? Is he competent to assist his counsel in the defense of his case? And then sanity at the time of the alleged offense,” Farese said of the questions he hopes the evaluation can answer.

READ MORE: This could be the defense for the man accused of killing Ole Miss student Ally Kostial

RELATED: Ally Kostial’s want to name studio at Ole Miss after her

RELATED: 'She was that kid, the reason why coaches coached' | Ally Kostial's coach talks about who she was on and off the track

RELATED: Father of murdered Ole Miss student remembers her with favorite childhood photo

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