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UT student arrested after mother found dead at Holiday Inn in Downtown Austin

The suspect's mother and aunt had just flown to Austin from Georgia after they found out he had been hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation.

AUSTIN, Texas — A University of Texas student has been arrested as police investigate the cause of his mother's death at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Downtown Austin.

Austin Police Department officers responded to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 4:44 a.m. on Wednesday after the caller reported they heard screaming in one of the rooms. Upon arrival at the room in question, police forced entry and found the victim lying face down on the floor with the suspect on her back.

Police then detained the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Eyitoluwa Olayeye. The victim was identified as his mother, 48-year-old Kehinde Olayeye. She was pronounced dead at 6:12 a.m.

Police reported a bloody pillow was found inside the room and the suspect appeared to be singing in a different language. A witness also reported they heard a female running down the hallways around 4:15 a.m. saying "let me in." He also said he heard what appeared to be a person being dragged past his room.

Credit: Austin PD
Eyitoluwa Olayeye was arrested in connection with his mother's death.

Upon speaking with the victim's sister, she told police they had flown to Austin from Georgia the night before to visit Eyitoluwa. She said she was staying in a separate room from the pair and was unaware of any disturbance between them before she went to her own room.

Police then learned that Eyitoluwa was released from Dell Seton Medical Hospital on Nov. 5, where he was treated for psychiatric evaluation. 

While they were still in Georgia, the suspect's aunt said she heard him rambling and saying, "I pray that God brings us together." The suspect's friends had also told them that he was saying he had found his purpose in life and that, apparently, he had touched someone inappropriately at the library on campus and had been asked to leave. 

Eventually, the friends called back to tell them that Eyitoluwa was transported by EMS to the hospital. Prior to boarding their flight, she said a doctor called them to ask if they had a history of mental illness in the family, which she said she was not aware of. Later, the friends called again to say that he had been discharged.

Upon arrival in Austin, the sisters met Eyitoluwa at a friend's apartment, where his aunt said he appeared to be in good spirits. The three of them then left for the hotel.

At the hotel, the aunt said he again began to speak about God and his purpose, and that he had gotten into an argument with a professor about the economy and how it was not in favor of the poor. She also said he told them that the hospital was trying to hold him because of a mental issue, but he "just told hem what they wanted to hear so they would let him go," court documents state.

She said he appeared to be "really hyped up" at this point, so she told him to go to bed. She said that she and her sister wanted to bring him back to Georgia. She also said she hugged him before going back to her own room.

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A security guard at the hotel told police he heard loud noises coming from the suspect's room around 4:30 a.m. and asked them to keep it down. However, he said the noises became even louder and it sounded like people were fighting and banging on the wall.

Upon speaking with Eyitoluwa at the homicide office, police observed what appeared to be fighting wounds on his elbow, biceps and face.

He told police that he was in his junior year of college at UT, where he was studying economics and had a GPA of 3.5. Documents state he told them he attended class on Tuesday and also played basketball at the recreation center. From there, he said he walked to the UT Tower to pray. 

The next thing he knew, he said he was in the back of an ambulance. Police said he could not tell them why or how he got there. At the hospital, he remembered staff asking him if he had ever been diagnosed as bipolar or manic, to which he said no.

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He recalled his memories of meeting with his family and friends at the apartment, and then later traveling to the hotel with just his mother and aunt. He said he remembered his mother standing over him and praying, but the next thing he knew he was in the back of a police car.

Documents state that he told police that no one else was in his and his mother's room. When told that his mother had passed, police said that he told them he must have killed her because no one else was there. However, he said he could not remember anything and he did not have a reason to kill her.

The Travis County Medical Examiner reported that Kehinde had deep skull hemorrhaging, hemorrhaging around the neck, lacerations to her inner mouth and petechial hemorrhaging. The examiner also observed soft signs of strangulation. A final cause of death ruling is pending toxicology results.

As of Friday afternoon, online records indicate Eyitoluwa is in Travis County custody under a $1 million bond. He is now only charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony.

If you have more information, contact the APD's homicide tip line at 512-477-3588.

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