Idaho Professor Kills Student, Then Self: Cops Ernesto Bustamante had reportedly terrorized former lover for months By Mark Russell, Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2011 8:26 AM CDT STORY [/*] COMMENTS5) [/*][/list] (Newser) – A University of Idaho psychology professor was found dead in a hotel room on Tuesday, having committed suicide a day after killing his former girlfriend, a graduate student at the same university, say police. Ernesto Bustamante, 31, reportedly had multiple personalities, one he called "the beast" and another called "psychopathic killer," according to one of his friends. Bustamante and ex-girlfriend Katy Benoit broke up in March, say her roommates. They told police that the professor terrorized Benoit multiple times after the relationship ended, and at one point put a gun in her mouth. They say they had been baking cookies late Monday when Benoit stepped outside for a cigarette. About two minutes later, they heard gunfire. Benoit had been shot multiple times with a .45-caliber handgun. Benoit's family says the 22-year-old filed a restraining order against Bustamante; her roommates say she filed a complaint with the university in June. The university told the AP that Bustamante resigned effective Friday, though it wouldn't share specifics.