Hardworking female nursing student, 23, met horrific end after being matched with male roommate from hell, 40

Daily Mail​

7 hours ago

The family of a murdered British nursing student has filed a lawsuit against the company that placed her with a disturbed male roommate in her Texas flat - the same man who would go on to stab her to death over a cat.
Elizabeth Odunsi, 23 - known to loved ones as Tamilore or Tami - was found dead in her Houston student apartment on April 26, just days before she was set to graduate from Texas Woman's University. She had suffered nearly 30 stab wounds.
Her roommate, 40-year-old Chester Grant, was arrested and charged with her murder in May and remains in custody at Harris County Jail.
Now, Odunsi's family is seeking over $65 million in damages from the housing company that placed the young aspiring nurse with an adult male roommate - claiming her death was the direct result of gross negligence, ABC 13 News reported.
'This is not someone who she chose to be roommates with,' attorney Jonathan Cox said, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
'They placed him with her, and even when Tami reached out to let them know that there was an issue, they did nothing,' he added.
At just 17, Odunsi moved to the US with dreams of becoming a nurse, often posting on TikTok about life as a 'Brit in America' and sharing her experiences as a Londoner living in the southern states.
According to the Odunsi family's attorneys - Jonathan Cox and Troy Pradia - the college student was paired with Grant through a company called 'For a Place to Live' just two months before her death, ABC 13 reported.
Once there, she shared a two-bedroom unit with Grant, though the pair were reportedly 'complete strangers,' as he had moved in only weeks earlier.
The pairing company describes itself as a 'student-housing provider' on its website, claiming that the roommate-matching process includes thorough background checks during screening.
According to the family's attorneys, the screening process is then outsourced to a second company - SafeRent Solutions - which is also named in the recent suit.
However, it later emerged that Grant had at least two domestic violence-related convictions in Washington State - including one felony - casting serious doubt on whether he was properly vetted during the screening process, ABC 13 reported.
'It's unconscionable that this company would place this 40-year-old man with past criminal history, violent criminal history, with Tami, who was 23 years old,' Cox said, according to the outlet.
Just days before her brutal murder, the pair reportedly had an altercation over their cat, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed this week and obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
According to court documents, the confrontation escalated as Grant threatened the 23-year-old woman - knocked her cellphone from her hand, poured an unknown liquid on her face, and ominously told her she was dead.
Following the violent altercation, Odunsi promptly filed a report with the Houston Police Department and notified an employee at the housing company, stressing that she felt unsafe living with Grant.
Although no charges were filed, Odunsi arranged a meeting with the roommate company to discuss her concerns - a meeting that, according to her lawyers, was ultimately canceled by the company, ABC 13 reported.
'She did all the right things,' Pradia said, as reported by the outlet.
On April 26, alarm bells rang when a friend of Odunsi's father, unable to get in touch with the college student, called the police to check on her well-being.
When officers arrived, they spotted blood on the rear patio and forced their way inside – finding Odunsi in the kitchen with fatal injuries.
In May, the court heard that the stabbing occurred after the pair had fought over Grant's cat. Odunsi was stabbed over a dozen times, and Grant attempted to slash his own throat shortly afterward. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Adenike Odunsi, Tamilore's mother, recently recounted the last phone call with her daughter, who called while returning to the apartment, expressing fear of Grant, ABC 13 reported.
At the door, Odunsi said her daughter found a pair of her shoes filled with feces. She remembered hearing Tamilore ask Grant why he had done it - then suddenly, her daughter screamed, 'Help, help, help,' before the call abruptly ended.
'We didn't just lose Tami; she was stolen from us,' Tamilore's sister, Georgina Odunsi, said, according to the outlet.
'The amount of trauma that my family and I have experienced is unfair. The ringing noise in my ear that began as soon as I heard the news has not stopped since, and I fear it never will,' she added.
The graduate nurse was popular on social media – going by the handle Tamidollars on TikTok where she had 30,000 followers. Her posts had amassed more than 3 million likes.
On April 21 - just three days before the murder - the hardworking graduate made her very last post, showcasing her relaxed and smiling in her room with the caption 'I'm readdyyyyy' along with a relaxed emoji.
Alongside the clip, she wrote: '23 years old. BSN grad in 2 weeks. Summer is 14 days away. Starting to look human again.'
In one clip, she joked how Americans always asked her, 'Is is true everything stops for tea?' She also highlighted how healthcare in the UK was free.
In May, Odunsi was honored at TWU's commencement ceremony with a posthumous Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her family lovingly accepted the degree on her behalf, according to the Houston Chronicle.
'A part of our family is missing and dare I say, the glue that held our family together is missing,' Georgina said, as reported by the outlet.
'We will forever love Tami, and we will never stop saying her name.'
Georgina flew in from the UK to publicly announce the lawsuit during a press conference on Tuesday.