Student pleads not guilty in killing of woman in Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Portland State University football player has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of another student.

Keenan Harpole is accused of fatally shooting PSU freshman Amara Marluke at her apartment building near campus about 1 a.m. April 4.

The brief arraignment Thursday was held inside the Multnomah County Justice Center, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Court documents haven’t yet described the encounter between Marluke, 19, and Harpole, 20. The indictment describes the murder as an act of domestic violence.

After the shooting, authorities say Harpole fled to his hometown of Bend, where he turned himself in and was arrested. Harpole remains in custody without bail.

On Saturday, more than 300 students attended a memorial that honored Marluke as an activist, artist and co-president of the university’s Black Student Union who was planning to major in music or art therapy.

“To say that Amara was the light of our life, a beautiful and a caring soul would not begin to do her justice,” Marluke’s father, Bradley Marluke, said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “Her dedication to her family and friends was unwavering and that she would fall victim to a senseless and violent death is unimaginable.”