Purdue to renovate building where student was killed in 2014

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue University will once again use a room in the basement of its Electrical Engineering Building where a teaching assistant was killed in 2014.

This summer, renovations will start on a large portion of the basement, including the room where Andrew Boldt was fatally shot and stabbed by a fellow student. The space where the room is located will become part of a senior design project laboratory scheduled to open in fall 2017, the (Lafayette) Journal & Courier (http://on.jconline.com/1Rnh0qS ) reported.

Currently, the wooden doors to the room are bolted shut, prohibiting access to a lab that's remained unused since Jan. 21, 2014, when Boldt was killed. A large glass case in the hallway outside the lab contains dedications to the 21-year-old senior engineering student.

It's still unclear why Cody Cousins targeted Boldt, but the two were teaching assistants in separate courses taught by the same professor. Cousins, 24, was convicted for killing Boldt, but ended his own life while serving a 64-year prison sentence.

Purdue plans to create a memorial for Boldt in the building, said Robert Frosch, civil engineering professor and associate dean for resource planning and management.

"There will be something that will be done special for Andrew," he said.

Frosch said the memorial will focus on who Boldt was as a person and not the tragedy.

"It's meant to celebrate his life," he said.

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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com