IUPD confirms deceased student's name

Junior Gregory Willoughby, 21, was found dead Tuesday in his room on the third floor of Willkie Quad North Tower. IU Police Department Interim Chief of Police Jerry Minger confirmed the student’s identity 10 a.m. Wednesday after next of kin was notified.

Willoughby was a 2007 Wells Scholar and graduated from Warren Central High School as an AP Scholar with Distinction and the captain of the Academic Super Bowl science team. Willoughby, a biochemistry major, worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Willoughby was also a cellist and served as co-principal chair in the All-Campus Orchestra in spring 2008.

Emergency respondents found Willoughby’s body in his closet along with a bucket believed to contain hydrogen sulfide, Minger said.

A handwritten sign posted on the closet door warned individuals of the hazardous material inside: “Warning H2S.” The toxic chemical, known for its foul odor of rotten eggs, is lethal when inhaled.

Hydrogen sulfide can be made from “common household and construction materials” found at Menards or Lowe’s. These ingredients can also be acquired from a chemistry lab.

Third-floor residents were informed Tuesday that Willoughby had been dead for seven to 10 days.

Sophomore Brian Darsie, Willoughby’s suitemate, said he noticed an odor on April 4, but was unsure of its origin. After several visits by maintenance and Willkie staff investigating the smell in Darsie’s room, staff members attempted to enter Willoughby’s room at about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“They were talking loudly outside my door,” junior Ted Enberg said. “They said, ‘There’s an attempted suicide. Call IU Police Department.’”

Residents said they noticed a smell at least a week ago, with a stronger odor noticeable on the far side of the floor by Willoughby’s room.

“It was this awful, awful smell,” Enberg said.

Willoughby’s disappearance was not noticed by his floormates. Willkie residents said individuals do not normally interact much with each other, and it is not unusual to go weeks or even months without seeing someone on the floor.

“I haven’t met anyone new on my floor this year,” sophomore Charlotte Janus said while waiting outside of Willkie North. Residents were unable to enter the building for several hours Tuesday while emergency respondents were inside.

“Today we did,” sophomore Rita Movelle said. “Today we met a lot of people.”

As residents waited outside of the building, unable to enter and unsure of what had happened, they turned to each other for information.  Students gathered in small groups, sprawled on the grass or camped out on the steps of the Willkie Center building.  As the hours dragged on, they discussed everything from the latest rumors to the lack of a community within Willkie.

“Once you walk down the hall, you swipe your card, shut the door and it locks,” Enberg said. “You kind of block everyone off.”

Unlike many residential halls, known for their open doors and social atmosphere, residents described Willkie as a closed off community for independent people.

“The dorm situation is the toughest here because it’s not an open community,” Enberg said. “You shut people out really quickly.”

When asked about Willoughby and what people on the floor knew about him, many responded that they did not know him well.

“I know he keeps his shoes outside his room,” junior David Chen said.