Washington, US - The Chinese student accused of beheading a fellow Chinese student at Virginia Tech may have been snubbed romantically by his victim.

China Central Television (CCTV) cited other Chinese students who knew Zhu Haiyang, 25, as saying that he had courted Ms Yang Xin, 22, without success.

Zhu is a doctoral student in agricultural and applied economics who began his studies at Virginia Tech last August. He had been assigned by the school to mentor Ms Yang, who arrived on campus on Jan 8 from Beijing to pursue a master's degree in accounting.

The Washington Post reported that he spent the next two weeks showing her around campus and had helped her search for accomodation.

The pair became comfortable with each other in that short span that Ms Yang had listed Zhu as one of her two emergency contacts.

Zhu's behaviour was erratic and standoffish in the months before the campus decapitation, his landlord told Associated Press.

However, a fellow teaching assistant (TA) described the Chinese national as being personable.

Said Ken Stanton, 30, to AP: "He had friends and he was a TA. You can't be a TA and not be social."

Earlier on Friday, AFP reported that Zhu was charged with first-degree murder for slaying Ms Yang.

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