None of those arrested is a UConn student. Lomax and Muhammad live in Bloomfield, about 30 miles from campus. Todd lives in Hartford.
Police have said that Howard was stabbed once in the abdomen during an altercation that erupted after the dance was evacuated. Several other football players were with him, but none has been charged, and coach Randy Edsall said he has not heard that any football player was involved in anything other than “verbal jostling.’’
Lomax was not present when the argument started and does not know what it was about, but tried to break up the fight and did not stab anyone, said his attorney, Deron Freeman.
“He was just partying,’’ Freeman said. “Often people from out of town go to the UConn campus to party.’’
Lomax, a Bloomfield High School graduate who works in information technology, goes by the nickname Pooda. He last logged into his MySpace page in March, when he listed his occupation as “taking care of my daughter.’’
On Lomax’s Facebook page, his friends include Muhammad and 21-year-old Johnny Hood of Hartford, who was arrested shortly after the stabbing and faces charges of breach of peace and interfering with police. He was pointed out to police by Brian Parker, another UConn football player who suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Police would not discuss evidence or a motive during a news conference yesterday. More than 40 investigators conducted more than 200 interviews and “have not stopped working,’’ UConn Police Chief Robert Hudd said.
State Police, who searched storm drains and a local pond during the weekend, said dog teams, a dive team, and forensics experts contributed to the investigation.
Freeman said he was first told that Lomax would be charged in connection with the fight but not with murder.
