Texas art teacher killed in Nepal during trip to help quake victims

AUSTIN, Texas An art teacher at Austin’s Sci-Tech Preparatory School was murdered in Nepal last month, according to authorities, and the school is planning a memorial this week.

Dahlia Yehia, 25, had been visiting Nepal since July 20 to help the thousands of people who continue to recover from the April 25 earthquake. Authorities said she was renting a room in Pokhara, a city in central Nepal west of the capital of Kathmandu, from a fellow teacher, 30-year-old Narayan Paudel.

Paudel confessed last week to beating Yehia to death on Aug. 4 with a hammer and a baton as she slept, before putting her body in a sack and dumping it in a nearby river, Nepali police told the Himalayan Times, an English-language daily newspaper. But investigators have not determined a motive and are still searching for her body, the Times said.

During his interrogation, Paudel asked to use the bathroom but instead went to the roof of the police building and jumped off. He broke his leg and is being treated at a local hospital, police said.

Dahlia’s family had created a Facebook page when they first lost contact with her in August, but it has now become a public space to remember her.

“We have seen an incredible outpouring of love and support during these past few weeks, from every corner of the globe,” a post from Friday said. “We are devastated by this senseless loss of a beautiful life. For those who haven’t had the joy of spending time with Dahlia, know that she is a giver, lover, and humanitarian, who devoted her life to others less fortunate both domestic and abroad.”

Sci-Tech Preparatory, a charter school in Southeast Austin with 264 students, also posted on Facebook to remember their art teacher. The post fondly recalled a field trip to Graffiti Park at Castle Hills near downtown Austin last year.

The school also announced that it would be planning a memorial for students in the coming days. “Please keep Ms Y’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this time of grief and loss,” the school posted.

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