Lovely Varughese returns to SIU on son Pravin’s 10th death anniversary to distribute memorial scholarship

Indian American mom Lovely Varughese led a crusade for justice for her teenage son, Pravin, who was found dead in the woods 10 years ago this Saturday. She discusses her family’s scholarship initiative and recent Indian student deaths in the US.

February 17th marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic death of Pravin Varughese, a student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, whose body was discovered in the woods, approximately three miles from the SIU campus.

Varughese had gone missing in the early hours of February 12th. after leaving a party. His last known sighting was at the party on West College Street in Carbondale around 11:00 PM.

Around 12:30 a.m., he made a desperate call to a friend, during which he reportedly sounded out of breath. The body was eventually discovered after an intense search effort lasting nearly six days.

The Carbondale Police promptly concluded that Varughese had died of hypothermia, a conclusion supported by Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr. However, Varughese’s family, led by his mother Lovely, suspected foul play.

After relentless pursuit by the family, a second autopsy was conducted, revealing three major head injuries from blunt trauma and significant damage to his eye, right forearm indicative of a defensive struggle.

READ: Carbondale police have botched up investigation into my son’s death, have told lies after lies, can’t trust them anymore: Pravin Varughese’s mother (June 25, 2014)

In March 2015, the case was transferred to David Robinson, a special prosecutor in the Illinois State Appellate Court. Three years and five months after Varughese’s death, Gaege Bethune, then 22, was indicted for first-degree murder in connection with the incident.

Bethune, admitting to being intoxicated, claimed he had given Varughese a ride that night. He alleged that Varughese initiated an altercation and fled into the woods when approached by an Illinois state trooper.

Follow the American Bazaar’s coverage of Pravin Varughese’s death

Bethune was initially found guilty of first-degree murder in 2018; however, the verdict was subsequently overturned, resulting in his release from jail. The judge cited improper jury instructions, suggesting that the jury may have been confused regarding the elements they needed to consider in reaching their decision.

While Bethune is now free, Lovely Varughese asserted in a 2019 interview with the American Bazaar that justice had been served for her son. She emphasized that her son was not involved in drugs or intoxicated, and she sought accountability for his death.

In memory of Pravin, the Varughese family established a scholarship at SIU for criminal justice program students eight years ago. Last Saturday, the family returned to Carbondale for a memorial for Pravin and to award the scholarship.

READ: Tragic deaths of Indian-origin students in the US raise alarms over safety (February 15, 2024)

On the 10th anniversary of Pravin’s passing, the American Bazaar spoke with Lovely Varughese, amid ongoing concerns over the mysterious deaths of Indian and Indian American students in the United States, some attributed to hypothermia, akin to the cause initially cited for Pravin’s death. Here are edited excerpts:

Tell us about the scholarship you instituted in memory of Pravin…

This is the eighth year of the scholarship. We give the money, it’s a thousand dollars, and it says, “in memory of Pravin Matthew Varughese.” It is for a criminal justice student. That’s where his passion was and every year I speak there. The Carbondale police chief comes for the ceremony at the SIU campus — the current police chief, not the one who was there at the time of Pravin’s death.

This year onward, the winner will be picked by the criminal justice program of Southern Illinois University. It’s going to be with SIU, and going to be there permanently. We just give them the money and they pick the student.

(This year, the scholarship was awarded to Mason Patton, who was selected by the Criminology and Criminal Justice program of SIU.)

Was Pravin Varughese murdered? Post-mortem report indicates injuries to head, arm (June 17, 2014)

The first winner of the scholarship is already a sheriff, and a couple of others are working in the jail system; they all are into law enforcement.

What is Gaege Bethune doing now?

We hear that he’s doing the same thing he does; he’s not repentant at all. We hear that he still fights with people, and he tells them that he got out of murder once, he can do it again, things like that. We don’t know whether it’s all true since it’s second-hand talk that we are hearing. But knowing his character, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s walking free. That is the system here and that is the American way of living. What can we say?

At least you tried your best…

I tried my best; the jury found him guilty [of murder] and that’s all I can ask for. I was able to prove that Pravin was not the one to be blamed; so I’m peaceful that way. That’s all I wanted. I just wanted to prove that Pravin did not do this to himself, and I tried everything to bring [Bethune] to justice and we were able to get there. It was all brick wall or iron wall or whatever, we were able to open everything, got in there, got everything done and then look what happened.

Bethune was released because of technicalities?

The judge said the indictment had nothing to do with the trial. He said the jury got confused. That’s what he said. I was, like, what in the world is this man talking about, but it’s the same judge who said in the court many, many times that this was only a charge sheet and one should not make any judgment based on that, and only thing it was saying was the prosecution tells you this is what they are going to prove. So you make your decision based on the evidence presented in the court.

Pravin Varughese murder case: secret grand jury not to charge prime suspect Gaege Bethune (February 25, 2015)

The crazy thing is on the day of sentencing, he came prepared. The only thing he had to do that day was to sentence [Bethune]. He only had to say whether he was going to be in jail for 20 years or more — and he was facing 20 to 60 years. So that’s all he had to do, but he came in and read pages after pages [stating why he is going set Bethune should be free]. We don’t know what motivated him.

So even, eve [Special Prosecutor] David Robinson was caught off guard — he had no idea. This was an outcome we did not foresee. so that’s where we are.

Are you at peace now because you have done everything you could for Pravin?

Yes, I am at peace. If the trial happens again, because Robinson said he is pursuing the case, if and when it happens, we definitely will be there. But for me, my peace came when the jury found Bethune guilty of murder. Actually, my peace came when he got charged. Everything after that was like a bonus. So I feel like I got what I wanted for Pravin. I was able to do everything I could in my power.

And how is the rest of your family doing now?

You know this is really a hard time. Every time this February comes, it is. But we are moving along, our daughter is married. She has a baby, who is a year and a half now. We babysit her. My husband babysits on Thursday and Friday when he’s off. Every time somebody calls, she’s right there. She has a lot of Pravin’s character. She is a social butterfly. She talks like him and moves around. So she’s a distraction for us. Our youngest daughter graduated BSN and is working as an OB nurse now.

Tell us about the posthumous degree Pravin received…

Pravin was honored with his degree in 2023. He would have graduated in 2016, but they did not give him the degree. Then Dr.Jeffery T. Burgin, Jr., who took over as vice chancellor, initiated the process. When he came for one memorial, he asked us about the degree. Upon finding out that nothing was given, he went back and talked to the college and Pravin was awarded his degree in criminal justice last year. They all came for the convocation. [Prosecutor] Robinson and top police officials were there. And the whole stadium stood up, and it was an unbelievable day.

Pravin Varughese lived another day before he died: Attorney Charles Stegmeyer (March 11, 2015)

It’s unbelievable how things have changed. We had such animosity with the police department. Now police officials come for Pravin’s prayer events. They walk with us into the woods. Every year the police chief emails me and finds out when we are going there. So they arrange everything.

So, in a way, I feel like Pravin became a bridge for the change. He brought so much love into the community. In the meantime, the state’s attorney was voted out and [Jackson County State’s Attorney] Michael Carr was voted out.

There has been a series of deaths of Indian and Indian American students on US campuses, under unfortunate circumstances. At least one or two were due to hyperthermia, which is what police said Pravin died of, initially. Have you followed these tragedies?

Yes, a friend sent me the link to an article on the death of a Purdue University student.

I think the problem is there is nobody to talk for them [the families of the students] here. You know, so it is like, it’s all case shut. Even today my husband was saying the police will say, “Oh, no foul play suspected.” That’s the end of it, case closed. That’s exactly what they told us [about Pravin]. “No foul play suspected.”

The Purdue University student [Neel Acharya] was doing a double major. My God, what a smart student. Even that, they said his phone was found somewhere in the field and he was found on campus. So, I don’t know how they can say no foul play [is] suspected. You know, nobody’s going to throw their phone in the field and come and just die. It’s common sense but to me, unless somebody’s there to talk for them nothing will happen.

Do you see any similarity between Pravin’s death and Acharya’s?

I mean, the similarity in the sense, like they are too quick, you know, to make an assumption [that] there is no foul play… even before an autopsy. I don’t know the details of these two cases, but from what I’m hearing is like, you know, they [authorities] are not doing anything. That’s exactly what was happening with Pravin too. If we did not make all that noise and raise all this, we were done too.

So, I always think when I hear cases like these, I’m like why is this, why don’t we get the same attention like the other communities get. Even when they are missing, you now, like about the search, it’s all over the news, in the national media and all that. But then when it comes to our kids, we are lucky if it even gets to the local channel. You know, and these kids are such smart kids, otherwise, they won’t even make it here [to the US]. We were lucky to have major national and local media follow Pravin’s case and I believe that made a difference for us.

Pravin Varughese murder case: secret grand jury not to charge prime suspect Gaege Bethune (February 25, 2015)

And I don’t know how much this Indian consulate is doing. In our case, they couldn’t do anything because Pravin was born here. And we all are US citizens too. So, they said they couldn’t do anything…

Yeah, but for these kids, I would hope these Indian consulates will take a little bit more aggressive inquiry and get to the bottom of it. You know these are real human lives.
I mean, the parents and their kids over here, with so much dreams and my God, just imagine the parent’s grief.

These are the two case that you’re hearing about, but I think there was one in New York last year. One of my friends in New York said they found the body and that was it. There was nothing after that, nothing. Yeah, it’s heartbreaking.

Sadly any of these incidents are not going to keep the Indian students from coming to US to follow their passion.I think more needs to be done on a higher level. There should be a contact person/organization where these parents in this situation can reach out for proper legal guidance and to make sure justice is served for these victims.