COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio State University athlete who had just gone through a breakup texted suicidal messages to his ex-girlfriend before he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police evidence records show.
Wrestler and football scout team member Kosta Karageorge, who was 22, had been missing for several days when his body was found in a trash bin in Columbus not far from his campus-area apartment on Nov. 30. A handgun was found near his right hand.
Investigators concluded that Karageorge and his girlfriend broke up around the time he went missing on Nov. 26. Karageorge texted his girlfriend after 1 a.m. that day, saying that he loved her and wanted to talk, according to text records released by police on Tuesday. When he received responses asking him not to speak again to the sender, he replied, "I am gonna kill myself," and he said that she shouldn't go to his funeral, the records show.
Texts sent to his mother moments later said concussions were affecting his mind and he hoped he wasn't an embarrassment. Karageorge's mother told police he'd had several concussions and a few spells of extreme confusion. The coroner said a special examination would look for signs of traumatic brain injury related to concussions.
IN-DEPTH
- 'Tragedy': Coroner Orders Exam of OSU Player's Brain
- OSU Tragedy: What We Know About Traumatic Brain Injury
- Body of Ohio State Player Found in Trash Bin