Student Issue, 1983—Student Killed in Parking Lot

Jamie Susan High, a sophomore in interior design, was pushed to the ground and fatally shot by MTSU student Walter Karell in the parking lot north of Massey Hall on October 30, 1983. After murdering High, Karell fired a shot at a witness before killing himself. High had been Karell’s girlfriend for a time when both were students at MTSU. In August, Karell had taken her hostage at her apartment in Murfreesboro and had held her for about five hours, threatening to kill himself if she did not take him back. According to a friend, she had talked him out of the August situation.

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  • Title Student Issue, 1983—Student Killed in Parking Lot
  • Author
  • Keywords Student Issue, 1983—Student Killed in Parking Lot
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date July 15, 2025
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 17, 2018