Murder of Trang Phuong Ho

Trang Ho's family thought Harvard could have prevented her death. In 1998, they filed suit against the school, alleging "wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering and emotional distress," and charging the university, as well as various people in charge at Dunster House, with negligence. They felt that the university had plenty of evidence that Tadesse was losing her mind and becoming fixated on violent vengeance, and that the university could have prevented the deaths.

In 1997, Melanie Thernstrom, who had graduated from Harvard in 1987 and taught creative writing there, published a nonfiction book about the case and its aftermath, Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder, which was sharply critical of how Harvard handled the crime. She also detailed several instances of Harvard students with mental health issues having their situations exacerbated by unsympathetic university officials and ineffective advisors.

On May 28, 1995, Tadesse stabbed her roommate Ho 45 times with a hunting knife, killing her. Tadesse also attacked one of Ho's visiting friends, a 26-year-old named Thao Nguyen, severely injuring her as well. Tadesse then hanged herself in the bathroom.

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.

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.