Student dies in stabbing at Maharishi University

Associated Press/March 3, 2004

Fairfield -- A student at Maharishi University of Management has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of another student on campus, police said Tuesday.

Fairfield police were called to the school about 7 p.m. Monday to a report of a stabbing at a dining hall. When they arrived, they found Levi Butler, 19, bleeding from stab wounds to the chest.

Butler was taken to Jefferson County Hospital, where he died.

Shuvender Sem, 24, was arrested and charged with murder.

Sem was still on the scene when officers arrived, said Officer Colin Smith.

"He was taken into custody without incident," Smith said. "He was actually extremely calm."

Smith estimated there were at least 50 people in the dining hall when he arrived.

Sem reportedly had been involved in another incident earlier in the day, police said. He allegedly attacked another student, stabbing him with a pen in the cheek during a class.

The incident was not reported to police until after Butler was stabbed.

University administrators were preparing for an all-campus meeting with students and faculty.

Sem was being held in the Jefferson County jail.