Who is Isimemen David Etute? College football player charged with murder after being catfished on Tinder

Isimemen David Etute planned to have a football career at Virginia Tech playing as a linebacker. All of his dreams might be over now.

According to The Roanoke Times, 18-year-old Etute was indicted on Tuesday by Montgomery County grand jury on a charge of second-degree murder. He allegedly beat to death a 40-year-old man who pretended to be a woman when they previously met to have sex.

What happened between Isimemen David Etute and Jerry Paul Smith?

Etute and Smith matched on dating app Tinder in April. The 18-year-old first believed Smith to be a woman, as he represented himself as 'Angie' on the dating app. This phenomenon is often described as 'catfishing', which means a person pretending to be someone they are not on social media.

The pair met for the first time on April 10, when they had oral sex. According to Etute's earlier statement, he thought he had met with a woman, and not with a man.

Etute then returned to Smith's apartment a month later to find out whether he was a man or a woman, using his cellphone lights to get a better look at him. Etute then began to punch Smith and stomped on him after he was down, breaking every bone in his face, knocking out his teeth and fracturing his cranium, according to attorneys.

Isi Etute in his mugshot: he was indicted of second-degree murder

Jimmy Smith, Etute's lawyer, has argued that the fact that Etute was catfished should play a part in the trial:

"I'm not saying what happened was acceptable, but this was more than someone just showing up to an apartment and punching someone," Turk reportedly said in court. "Nobody deserves to die, but I don't mind saying, don't pretend you are something that you are not. Don't target or lure anyone under that perception. That's just wrong."

Etute was arrested and suspended from the Virginia Tech football team in June after he went under suspicion of murdering Jerry Paul Smith, a middle-aged restaurant project manager, over Memorial Day weekend.

A 3-star linebacker rated from 247 sports, Etute committed to Virginia Tech out of Virginia Beach. He's 6'3" and weighs 205 lbs.

The Roanoke Times reported that Etute has been released on a $75,000 bond and is allowed to remain free as long as he stayed in Virginia Beach while the trial doesn't start. He also has to submit himself to electronic monitoring. If he's convicted of the charges, the 18-year-old may face up to 40 years in prison.