Villanova student's death may take weeks to explain

Authorities say it could be at least a month before they know what killed a Villanova University engineering student found dead in his apartment Saturday.

Matthew C. Ainsworth, 21, was fully clothed but unresponsive in his bed when a roommate found him around 11 a.m. at their apartment at 801 Montgomery Ave., according to township spokeswoman Brenda Viola.

Montgomery County Coroner Walter Hofman said Tuesday that there was no evidence Ainsworth had been beaten or otherwise attacked. His said his office would perform toxicology and other tests.

"This is going to take four to six weeks to figure out why he died," Hofman said.

Jonathan Gust, a university spokesman, said Ainsworth was remembered at each of the campus Masses on Sunday. He said the school was cooperating with police but did not have any details on the death.

"Our heart goes out to the family and friends of Matthew, and we ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," Gust said in an e-mail.

Ainsworth, a Houston resident born in Toledo, Ohio, was to graduate in 2012 with a dual degree in chemical engineering and French, according to an obituary in the Toledo Blade. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and on the executive board of the French club.

His survivors include his parents, Thomas and Anne-Marie; two brothers; and a sister. A funeral is scheduled this week in Ohio.

A Facebook page for Villanova's chemical engineering department noted Ainsworth's death, saying the department had lost a family member.

"He, and his infectious smile, will be missed," it said.