Willamette student arrested on murder charge

A Willamette University student was arrested on a charge of murder in connection with a body found near D and Winter streets NE Wednesday morning.

Willamette officials confirm that Beau W. Smith, 22, is currently enrolled as a student at Willamette. He is also a wide receiver for the Willamette Bearcats football team, according to the school's website.

The senior majoring in chemistry was arrested in the murder investigation of 66-year-old Michael Hampshire.

Christopher Young of the state medical examiner's office said Thursday that an autopsy on Hampshire revealed the cause of death was homicidal violence by blunt force head injuries. He did not address details about use of a weapon.

Salem Police closed several roads near state buildings downtown after they found Hampshire's body. According to Lt. Dave Okada, a passerby called police at 3:42 a.m and reported the body was lying on property near the intersection.

Responding officers were able to confirm that the body was that of a male.

Police were quick to close D Street between Capitol and Cottage streets NE, as well as Summer Street between E and Union streets NE.

Fairly soon after, they located Smith a short distance away from where the body was found and interviewed him, Okada said.

For the next several hours, officers remained on the scene investigating and urging the public to avoid the area.

State employees were asked to respond to the State Lands Building if they were unable to otherwise reach their normal parking or work places. The Salem-Keizer School District was also notified of the investigation due to the close proximity of several schools.

Willamette University spokesman Adam Torgerson said Wednesday night the university is doing what it can to cooperate with the investigation and it has reached out to faculty and staff to offer resources, including counseling and chaplain services.

"The incident occurred off campus so our role now is to make sure we cooperate with the police department," Torgerson said. "We take measures to make sure people on our campus are safe."

Torgerson confirmed Hampshire was not enrolled.

"Other than Mr. Smith being a student, I'm unaware of any other connection between this and the university," Torgerson said.

jdewitt@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter.com @Joce_DeWitt