Sinedu Tadesse (September 25, 1975 – May 28, 1995) was a junior at Harvard College who stabbed her roommate, Trang Phuong Ho, to death, then committed suicide. The incident may have resulted in changes to living conditions at Harvard. Background Sinedu Tadesse was born on September 25, 1975 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She grew up in a relatively well-off family. However, this period in Ethiopia's history was turbulent. Her father had been jailed for two years when Tadesse was aged about seven. She was ostracized by other students as well as her own family members during her childhood years in Ethiopia. Tadesse then devoted herself to her studies, gaining admission to the prestigious International Community School, where she graduated as valedictorian and was admitted to Harvard. At Harvard, Tadesse maintained a B average grade—too low for admittance to Harvard Medical School, but likely high enough to get into other good medical schools. She made no friends, remaining distant even from relatives she had in the area. Tadesse sent a form letter to dozens of strangers that she picked from the phone book, describing her unhappiness and pleading with them to be her friend. One woman responded to the letter but became alarmed by the bizarre writings and recordings Tadesse sent her in return; she had no further contact with Tadesse. Another woman found the letter obnoxious and sent it to a friend who worked at Harvard to review. After her freshman year, her roommate told her she was going to room with someone else. For her second and third years, Tadesse roomed with Trang Ho, a Vietnamese student who was well liked and doing well at Harvard, and Tadesse was obsessively fond of her. Tadesse was very needy in her demands for attention and became angry when Ho began to distance herself in their junior year. Tadesse apparently reacted with despair when Ho announced her decision to room with another group of girls their senior year, and the two women stopped speaking. Killing of Trang Ho and suicide Tadesse purchased two knives and rope, and the week before she killed Ho she sent a photograph of herself with an anonymous note to The Harvard Crimson, saying "Keep this picture. There will soon be a very juicy story involving this woman." She took one final exam, but got medical exemptions for two others, and had a brunch date with a fellow