While law enforcement investigators have remained tight-lipped about any prior links between a murdered Ole Miss student and the man accused of killing her, sources close to the victim have begun to speak out and have acknowledged that the pair knew one another.

Friends and family of slain University of Mississippi student Alexandra “Ally” Kostial say the motive for her killing seemed to be emotionally based.

Media outlets sourcing unnamed law enforcement officials say they believe Kostial was shot up to eight times and her body dumped near Sardis Lake.

A friend of Kostial’s wrote on Twitter: “He harassed her for years, took advantage of her for years, I spent countless nights holding Ally close drying her tears about this monster for years.”

A relative of Kostial’s through marriage, Jordan Kostial, posted a public comment to Facebook about the murder as well.

“If you ever wonder why women avoid rejecting you, this is why. We don’t know if you’re going to be cool about it or shoot us 8 times and throw our body near a lake. Stop teaching your sons that they deserve anything they want. Stop teaching your sons that women are lesser. And for god’s sake, stop teaching your sons that violence is a man’s way of settling things.”

Photos have surfaced purportedly showing the two at what appears to be a party, likely a sorority social. The images are reportedly from 2016 and were recovered from Kostial’s account on the photograph app VCSO.

Both images seem to show the victim and the man police believe killed her with their arms around one another posing for the camera.

One image shows the pair dressed up with Theesfeld wearing a sticker or pin with the Greek letters of Kostial’s sorority. In the other image, both appear to be dressed in Hawaiian attire.