2 arrested in connection with deadly WJU student beating

WHEELING, W.Va. — Two suspects in the slaying of a Wheeling Jesuit University student were arrested Tuesday on murder charges.

Craig Tyler Peacock, 22, of Clewiston, Fla., and Jarrett Mathis Chandler, 24, of Winnfield, La., were being held at the Northern Regional Jail on $1 million cash bond each following arraignments in Ohio County Magistrate Court, Wheeling police said in a news release.

Peacock and Chandler are accused of killing Kevin Figaniak, 21, of Perkasie, Pa. Figaniak and a friend were walking toward the Wheeling Jesuit campus when they were attacked at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Investigators told Channel 11’s Cara Sapida that the attack appears to be random.

“I don’t think there was any motive. I don’t think they knew each other at all,” Detective Sgt. Gregg McEnzie said.

According to the criminal complaint, both suspects admitted to getting into a verbal argument with two unknown males and following them. Peacock said he may have kicked the victim.

“It was just a random act that night. I don’t believe they knew these two victims,” McEnzie said.

Figaniak was pronounced dead just after 3 a.m. Sunday at a Pittsburgh hospital, said the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office in Pennsylvania.

Peacock and Chandler were arrested around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday at a campsite that is frequented by oil and gas workers, police said.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said that the investigation is continuing and police are still searching for a third suspect.

Figaniak was a senior business major who played on Wheeling Jesuit's varsity lacrosse team. He also was a member of the school's club hockey team.

"'Why?' was what people kept on asking," Wheeling Jesuit President Rev. James Fleming said Tuesday at a news conference. "'Why would this happen?' There's no good answer for why it would happen. There is evil in the world, and we saw the results of it firsthand."

The university said in a posting on its website that it had received an outpouring of support from alumni, the Wheeling community, neighboring colleges and friends.

"We ask that you keep Kevin Figaniak's family and the WJU community in your prayers during this time of mourning. It is through this support that we draw the strength to cope with the loss of our fallen brother," the university posting said.

WPXI