Man charged in connection with the death of a Texas scientist who was killed during her morning run
Police in Plano, Texas, arrested and charged a 29-year-old man in connection with the death of a scientist who was a mother of two.
Sarmistha Sen, 43, went for her usual early morning jog August 1. Her body was found less than two hours later near a creek, according to Plano Police Department in a release. Police classified her death as a homicide and an arrest affidavit said her death was the result of “blunt force injuries” consistent with evidence found at the scene of the crime.
Bakari Abiona Moncrief of Frisco, Texas was charged with capital murder in connection with Sen’s death and is being held in the Collin County Detention Center in McKinney, Texas, according to a press release from the Plano police.
Moncrief’s attorney Joshua Andor told CNN that his client was arraigned Monday afternoon on the murder charge but could not comment on anything else. Moncrief also was charged in connection with a burglary that took place near the scene of where Sen’s body was found, police said.
Moncrief was arrested for the burglary August 1, according to Collin County Jail records, and according to police, Moncrief was identified as a person of interest in Sen’s death at the time of his arrest.
The affidavit said DNA testing linked the burglary and Sen’s murder and that Sen’s blood was found on Moncrief’s shirt as well as on his person.
Moncrief is being held on a $10 million bond for the murder charge and a $1 million bond for the burglary charge, according to jail records.
Sen’s killing is an extreme example of an issue women commonly face while out running. A 2016 survey from Runner’s World found that 43% of women at least sometimes experience harassment on the run compared with just 4% of men.
Sen was an avid runner and cancer researcher
Sen was an avid runner and liked to wake early and jog around Plano’s Chisholm Trail every morning, according to a CaringBridge site set up by her family, her husband, Roy Arindam, confirmed to CNN. The site said that she was “brutally killed by a stranger for no apparent reason.”
In addition to her husband, Sen leaves behind two children.
Local residents paid tribute to Sen by dropping off pairs of running shoes near the site where she was killed.
Sen was born in Sindri, India, later moved to Bangalore and then got married and moved to Plano in 2004, the CaringBridge site said. She studied at the University of Texas in Dallas and University of Alabama in Birmingham and worked on cancer research for most of her career, the site said.
“Sarmistha lived a free and fearless life inspiring many with her infectious energy and carefree smile,” the family wrote on CaringBridge. “Sarmistha was an avid runner, gardener and a great cook. She practiced healthy mindful living and she could cook extremely healthy food that tasted amazingly good.
“She was a trained singer of Indian classical music and loved to teach and perform music. She was passionate about cancer care and was a lifelong supporter of cancer research.”
