Jordan Andrade, the 25-year-old Porter Township man charged with murder in the stabbing death last fall of 29-year-old Valparaiso University graduate student Varun Raj Pucha, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty but mentally ill, according to court documents filed Friday.Pucha, from Khammam, in the state of Telangana in India, was honored during a candlelight vigil on Nov.
VU President José Padilla said during the memorial service that there are angels on campus, whether they are alive or not, and Pucha is among those angels to answer questions and give the community the push they need to move forward. Felony murder convictions in Indiana carry a sentencing guideline of 45 to 65 years in prison. Court documents show the plea of Guilty but Mentally Ill, while still a felony, has an incarceration cap of 60 years.
Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer has taken the matter under advisement pending the submission of a pre-sentence investigation report.