Haley Anderson Murder Update: Suspect Orlando Tercero Arrested In Nicaragua

The prime suspect in the murder of Binghamton University student Haley Anderson was arrested in Nicaragua on Tuesday, local news outlets reported.

The suspect, Orlando Tercero, fled to the Central American country shortly before the body of Anderson, 22, was discovered on Friday in an Oak Street residence in Binghamton, New York, where Tercero lived, USA Today Affiliate Press Connects reported.

Tercero was apprehended and transferred to the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, also known as "El Chipote," in Managua, Nicaragua, Commissioner Francisco Díaz of the Nicaraguan National Police said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Tercero is a U.S. citizen and a student of the same university where Anderson studied. Tercero was allegedly obsessed with Anderson for quite some time — an obsession that did not subside when both of them became friends. Although the two frequently met and studied together, they never dated.

Mishela Topalli, 21, Anderson’s roommate and close friend told TIME Magazine on Monday: “We knew he had some fixation on her for sure. Even his friends would say so."

“They hooked up in the past, but to her, it was pretty platonic and she didn’t want to have anything seriously,” Topalli said. “That was actually a while ago, but he never got over his obsession of her.”

Topalli said the Binghamton community was deeply saddened by her roommate’s death. “I don’t know why anyone would hurt Haley,” Topalli said. “She was so alive. She was so bright, so energetic. Anytime she would come into the room, she would always cheer us up. She was so excited about her future.”

She added that she grew concerned when Anderson stopped answering her phone after hanging out with her and a few other friends two nights before her body was discovered.

If Anderson had not had an untimely death, she would have gone on to pursue a career as a nurse. “She loved people,” Topalli said. “Any way she could help people, she did. Everything I’ve said about her is almost not enough. She in no way deserved what happened to her.”

Although the details surrounding her death were not made public by the police, according to Anderson’s autopsy report, she was killed by someone she knew.

“This incident and the circumstances of the death was not a random act or involving the conduct of a stranger,” the Binghamton Police said in a statement on Saturday. “The victim and male student had a previous domestic/romantic relationship. The investigation determined that the person of interest had left the United States by an international air travel flight, prior to the discovery of Haley Anderson’s deceased body.”

Binghamton University canceled classes for senior nursing students on Monday following the death of Anderson.

“The Binghamton University community is deeply saddened to learn of the death of senior nursing student Haley Anderson, whose death is being investigated by the Binghamton Police Department,” the university wrote in a statement. “There is no threat to public safety at this time. Our entire University community extends our deepest condolences to Haley’s family and friends, both here in Binghamton and in her hometown of Westbury, N.Y.”