'She would not have gone out without a fight': Father of 13-year-old girl ‘murdered by Virginia Tech students in sadistic pre-planned crime’ speaks out

The father of the 13-year-old Virginia girl whose gruesome murder made headlines last week is speaking out about his theories for how one of the suspects may have gotten a scar on her face.

Virginia Tech freshmen David Eisenhauer, 18, and Natalie Keepers, 19, have been arrested in connection to the stabbing murder of Nicole Lovell, 13, who disappeared after allegedly sneaking out of her home to meet Eisenhauer for a date on January 27.

While Keepers has only been charged with being an accessory to the murder, David Lovell voiced his belief that she may have been there when Eisenhauer killed his daughter, judging by a scratch on the engineering student's face.

Mr Lovell also shared how he was outraged after learning Keepers had asked for bond due to her gluten-free diet.

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In mourning: David Lovell, father of murdered Virginia teen Nicole Lovell, appeared on Dr Phil to speak about the gruesome crime. The full segment is set to air on Wednesday 

Cyber life: The mourning father says he knew about his daughter's online conversations with older men and had previously grounded her from her phone and all social media

‘One of the reasons why she stated she needed bond was because she was not getting her gluten-free meals in jail,' he told Dr. Phil. 'I wish I gave a (silent pause) about her gluten-free meals. 

'She said in court that she had battled with depression, that she was in some counselling at Virginia Tech, you know, she had been bullied as a kid.

'What I want to know how in the hell did that make her feel bullying my kid?’ 

When asked what his daughter's likely reaction was at the time, he said he bet she fought hard.

'I bet she fought like a wildcat. She's my kid,' Mr Lovell told Dr Phil in a segment set to air on Wednesday. 

'The Keepers girl, in her mug shot, looks like she has a scar. I'm pretty sure that would have been my daughter trying to fight back. She would not have gone out without a fight.' 

Victim: Nicole Lovell (pictured), 13, was murdered after she disappeared from her home on January 27

Mr Lovell also revealed that he knew about his daughter's 'inappropriate' online communications with older men and said that she had been grounded from all social media just before her tragic death.  

Police say Nicole met Eisenhauer on the anonymous messaging app Kik. Sources close to the investigation revealed to CNN last week that Eisenhauer and the victim had an 'inappropriate relationship' before her death and that he may have killed her to stop her from revealing the relationship.

'You could tell these older guys had fake profiles. Some of the things they said were way too grown up for the picture they had. We found out before Christmas and took her phone away from her,' Mr Lovell said. 

In his appearance on Dr Phil, Mr Lovell held a stuffed panda bear for comfort, saying it was a gift a friend gave him as a symbol of his daughter's love for the animal. 

Mr Lovell says he's still trying to comprehend losing his daughter.

'How can it go from being my wonderful happy daughter to she was murdered a few days later? I talked to her about a week before she went missing and everything was normal. She was my little baby girl,' he said.

Mr Lovell and Nicole's mother Tammy Weeks are not together. His wife Terri Lovell, Nicole's step-mom, also appeared on Dr Phil. 

Mr Lovell talked about Eisenhauer's silence surrounding the murder, saying he knows he's hiding something.

'I would like to get locked up in the same cell with him. I’m pretty sure I could get answers out of him. He took my little girl,' he said.

Keepers appeared before a judge on Thursday, in a failed attempt to be freed on bond. 

Fighting to keep the teen locked up, Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt described how authorities believe she and Eisenhauer plotted the murder. She did not suggest a possible motive, nor describe the killing itself.

But the prosecutor said messages on the girl's phone led to the suspects, and accused the college freshmen of deciding together in a fast-food restaurant that Eisenhauer would cut her throat.

Defense lawyers argued that Keepers' mental health could unravel behind bars. 

Eisenhauer, 18, is jailed without bond on charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder. His arrest report says he told officers: 'I believe the truth will set me free.'

Keepers, 19, is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping to hide the body.

Orchestrated: Prosecutors say David Eisenhauer, 18 (left), and Natalie Keepers, 19 (right), carefully planned the murder of 13-year-old Nicole Lovell, buying cleaning supplies and a shovel at separate Wal-Mart stores

The prosecutor said Eisenhauer initially denied his involvement when police found his messages on Nicole's phone, but eventually, he said he drove to the girl's home, watched her climb out of her window and greeted her with a 'side hug' before they drove off to pick up Keepers.

Keepers is adamant that she was not present at the killing itself, but she went along for the ride, Pettitt said. And once Nicole was dead, Keepers helped load her body into Eisenhauer's Lexus, the prosecutor added.

Nicole's remains were eventually found at a remote spot two hours south of campus.

Pettitt said it was Keepers who revealed the plot after officers tracked her down, but that she first tried to warn Eisenhauer, sending him a one-word text message reading 'Police.'

Nicole's parents, David Lovell and Tammy Weeks, attended the bail hearing but made no comments before leaving for their daughter's private funeral, where several hundred mourners paid their respects.

Friends and neighbors have described her as a lovely if awkward girl, clinging to childhood ways while exploring older behaviors. 

Eisenhauer and Keepers went to high schools five miles apart in Columbia, Maryland. Excelling in the classroom and on the track, Eisenhauer was focused on competing with top college runners while pursuing a career as an engineer.

Keepers, for her part, displayed a packed resume on her LinkedIn profile, including a summer internship with NASA, where she made how-to videos for engineers. Her father choked up in court Thursday when he said she had planned to follow his footsteps into aerospace engineering.