ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602130124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A Virginia Tech graduate student was found dead on campus Monday afternoon. Campus police said they do not know the cause of death.
Theresa Cortney Gillespie, 27, was found in a wooded area behind the football stadium.
Dave Nutter, director of Tech's news service, said a student using a footpath that passes near a rappelling tower saw her body in a pile of leaves and notified police.
Tech police Chief Mike Jones said the cause of Gillespie's death was unknown and police are awaiting autopsy results. The Associated Press quoted police as saying that alcohol may have been a factor in the death.
Nutter said ``there were no obvious signs of trauma'' on Gillespie's body. He said Gillespie's husband, Clyde, said he last saw his wife when they were out Saturday night.
Tech police said no missing person report on Gillespie was filed with the department.
Gillespie had just begun work on a master's degree in English, according to Shanna Francisco, a friend in Blacksburg who shared Gillespie's passion for poetry.
The two met about a year and a half ago while working on their writing with Anne Cheney, an associate professor of English.
``When I think of Theresa,'' Francisco said Monday night, ``I just think of a cat. She was very independent, a free spirit and seemed so balanced.''
The last time Francisco saw Gillespie was near Christmas. She said Gillespie seemed upbeat and excited after finding out about her recent acceptance into graduate school.
``She was a beautiful, beautiful person,'' Francisco said. ``She was one of those people who had a really warm energy about her.
"She was a really quiet person and she wrote about things that were extremely profound. She wrote a lot about being free - a free spirit. She had so much to say.''
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Gillespie. color. KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB