Probe continues in student’s death

Suspect has been identified

It’s been more than a month since the deadly beating of a University of Wisconsin-Stout student from Saudi Arabia as bars closed Halloween weekend.

And while Menomonie police have identified a suspect, no charges have been filed.

Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, 24, was beaten outside Toppers Pizza on Main St. shortly after 2 a.m. Oct. 30 and died from his injuries Oct. 31, drawing international attention as the small northwestern Wisconsin college town reeled, fearing it was a hate crime. A total of $20,000 was raised in a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

With the evidence police have so far, “we have no reason to believe it was a hate crime,” Menomonie Police Commander of Operations Todd Swartz said Wednesday.

“We do have a significant amount of information in evidence. We are still open to receiving additional information,” he said.

Police believe there is probable cause to seek felony murder and battery charges against the unidentified suspect, and recommended those charges to the Dunn County district attorney’s office, Swartz confirmed.

Dunn County District Attorney Andrea Nodolf has not returned phone calls from the Journal Sentinel over the past month.

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported Wednesday that Nodolf was still reviewing the case and had asked the Menomonie Police Department to do additional investigating.

The newspaper also reported that Nodolf said there was no final autopsy report yet. Alnahdi died from a traumatic brain injury, according to preliminary autopsy results.

Swartz said it’s not unusual for a police investigation to be ongoing until a decision is made by the district attorney’s office about charges.

The suspect is neither a UW-Stout student nor a resident of Dunn County, according to police. He also is not in custody, as a decision has not been made on charges.

Police may only hold a suspect up to 72 hours without charges being filed.

“We have no information to believe this person is a current threat to the public,” Swartz said.