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Yale Killer Caught on Tape?
AP Photo
With 75 cameras trained on the Yale lab where Annie Le’s body was found, former sex crimes prosecutor Wendy Murphy says police are likely tracking their suspect’s reaction to the grim discovery.
First it was bloody clothes hidden above ceiling tiles in the lab where Yale graduate student Annie Le was last seen alive. Then Sunday evening, Le's body was found behind a wall in the same building.
As yet, there are no suspects, but unlike most cases, odds are excellent the killer will be identified quickly. The building requires those who enter to swipe a card to get in—which means every potential suspect is already known to police. And even if the person gained entry without using a card, the building is under constant surveillance by 75 video cameras. Whoever killed Le is on the tapes.
By process of elimination alone, there's little doubt police will name the killer soon. If 25 people were in the building at the time Le went missing, cops will have no trouble figuring out that 24 of them had nothing to do with the crime. Whoever's left will become the focus of their investigation. This remaining individual—make no mistake—will have had a motive to kill Annie Le. A jilted and possessive ex-lover who was jealous because Le was about to be married to another man? A crazy scientist, upset that Le's work had led to a discovery that he had hoped to find? An angry woman, upset that Le was marrying a man she loved?
• Wendy Murphy: What the Police Know
• John Connolly: Annie Le’s Final Struggle Whoever it was had to be familiar enough with the building to know where to hide a body and was apparently aware of the need to avoid taking the body out of the building because of all the security cameras.
No matter how much of a genius-killer it might have been though, he or she left enough of a bloody mess that forensic experts will have an easy time doing all the necessary testing to match the killer to the crime scene.
Cops no doubt have a suspicion about what happened—and they probably know who did it. Which means they are watching that person closely to see how he or she reacts to the discovery of Le's body. Remember Scott Peterson's reaction to news that his wife's and son's bodies had washed up on shore after he thought he'd successfully disposed of them at sea? Peterson changed his hair color, got in a car, and drove toward the Mexican border. This sort of "Tell-Tale Heart" behavior can be the best evidence of all.
Wendy is a former child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor who teaches at New England Law/Boston. Wendy specializes in the representation of crime victims, women and children. She also writes and lectures widely on victims' rights and criminal justice policy. Her expose of the American legal system, And Justice For Some, came out in 2007. A former NFL cheerleader and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, Wendy lives outside Boston with her husband and five children.
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Did She Murder Before?
Wendy is a former child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor who teaches at New England Law/Boston. Wendy specializes in the representation of crime victims, women and children. She also writes and lectures widely on victims' rights and criminal justice policy. Her expose of the American legal system, And Justice For Some, came out in 2007. A former NFL cheerleader and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, Wendy lives outside Boston with her husband and five children.
Was Tiger a Victim?
Wendy is a former child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor who teaches at New England Law/Boston. Wendy specializes in the representation of crime victims, women and children. She also writes and lectures widely on victims' rights and criminal justice policy. Her expose of the American legal system, And Justice For Some, came out in 2007. A former NFL cheerleader and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, Wendy lives outside Boston with her husband and five children.
Punish the Onlookers
Wendy is a former child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor who teaches at New England Law/Boston. Wendy specializes in the representation of crime victims, women and children. She also writes and lectures widely on victims' rights and criminal justice policy. Her expose of the American legal system, And Justice For Some, came out in 2007. A former NFL cheerleader and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, Wendy lives outside Boston with her husband and five children.
piktor
I doubt it was a professor. It is either a student or a university employee familiar with the building.
The only interesting question is why it took police several days to find her body.
NHBill
Careful pik, only some of what has been reported is accurate. Police may have found the body immediately but withheld the discovery to set up surveillance of possible suspects after the announcement. In the end I doubt strongly that it will be the "only interesting question".
Jason87
Bingo! Couldn't agree with you more.
EdmondDantes
Yeah! CIS Ivy League!
piktor
NHBill -- You are quite right. We do not know what the police knows and when they knew it.
crymeariver
I think they found the body earlier and waited until the day
of her scheduled wedding to "announce" it. I'm not sure
if it's a crime of passion but I still think the person who attacked
her was not a stranger.
Strangers don't just walk into university science labs. Additionally,
the person was very familiar with the building. He/she knew that the
steam machine sets off the alarm. With the alarm going off, he/she
knew people would all rush out, giving plenty of time to hide the body
inside the building. It smacks too much of the "if I can't have you, no
body will" to prevent a wedding. Just my 2 cents.
EdmondDantes
Thx Sherlock!
BCLance
Out of curiosity, what makes you so sure it couldn't be a professor?
Granite
Either the Yale police are inept or all the reporting on it has been inept. She was caught on video going into the building but there is no tape of her leaving, and they pondered where she might be. Finally days later they find her in the building.
It seems they slacked off immediately and assumed the do-nothing runaway-bride conclusion.
I sincerely hope she was not unconscious and slowly bleeding to death while the police were back at the station drinking coffee.
GPatton
Hey Granite, lay off the law enforcement personnel. If it weren't for them, you'd be a sitting frikkin' duck for criminals like the one who snuffed out Annie Le. George Patton
bigwurzz
Why? Cause it would not be precedented for a LEO to be lazy and look for the easiest way to pin the case on someone and call it a day. Too bad instead I am a sitting duck for lazy, corrupt, and inept LEO and still have to worry about the criminals.
EdmondDantes
No bigwurzz. These are hardworking law enforcement professionals who are doing whatever they can to solve this crime. Just because you learn about law enforcement and detective work from television, doesn't give you the authority to harass someone about their views. Your MO is to attack, then consider. Let's find out what the facts are, then if GPatton is in error you can pounce. Deal? (Sheesh! I hope bigwurzz isn't working in law enforcement in my area...)
myofbah
Hey GPat thanks to law enforcement personnel we have one of the most f'd up justice systems in the country. You must be a corrupt cop.
Johnnyappleseed
Patty me boy, this could end up like the bungling of the Duke case, the normal citerea for success in most cases is a suspect arrested in the first seventy two hours.
They even have videos or so they say, maybe the cameras were not working who knows, Granite has an opinion, and it is only an opinion, cut him some slack.
nortonclybourn
What a bold prediction - the killer "will have had a motive." As soon as a suspect is identified, Wendy will pile on and wrap herself in the victim protection mantle regardless of the evidence. The "law teacher" will probably also ridicule due process and complain about standards of evidence.
I thought Wendy Murphy had been thoroughly discredited, but apparently Tina is willing to give her a chance to redeem herself and peddle her book.
EdmondDantes
Note that the most interesting aspects of Wendy Murphy's bio are 'A former NFL cheerleader and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School'. This is what Tina considers proxies of credibility. Tina Brown's got The Daily Beast and The Sexy Beast going. Wendy covers both media strategies. (Now I know why I regularly ask myself why I read these pages.)
anacalvertkilbane
this isn't journalism.
dailyplanet
Regrettably you neglected to enlighten the rest of us on how we can share your skill in identifying what is journalism vs. what is not journalism. Inquiring minds would want to know.
Storeboughtjam
You're probably right about everything you write; I certainly hope you are. But other scenarios, a bit more obfuscating, come to mind. The killer could have been a neighborhood thief scouting Yale buildings, and he could have followed a card-carrier in, and so in that case, he will be harder to identify -- those cameras often produce fuzzy pictures, anyway; and if IT IS a savvy thief, who meant to rob the building -- there are all kind of expensive objects in a science building -- he could have been wearing some disguise. I know this is farfetched, but it's not unheard of. It's probably as you say, though.
brooklynlib
True. It's not unheard of at all for criminals from off campus without credentials to get into locked buildings and commit assaults on women. This assumption about perp and motive merely based on the building having a keycard entry is just silliness.
crymeariver
Thieves don't break into science labs. It's slim pickings and
strangers stand out like a sore thumb. The killer knew too much
about the setup of the alarm systems and the building. Chances
are the killer KNEW the victim.
Storeboughtjam
Actually there's more than slim pickings -- there are microscopes, computers, desk accessories, and in addition to all kinds of equipment, there are also drugs. I agree it was probably someone she knew, but I've been in university buildings that require entry cards, and I've seen strange faces there quite often. No one questions their right to be there because it seems "rude" or "paranoid." I might add that in the particular building I used to frequent, there were two robberies in which computers, lamps(!), staplers, paper, and phones were missing! It was not, however, a science building.
dailyplanet
I agree. I'm familiar with science labs and for thieves it would be "slim pickings." Much of the equipment is large, unwieldy and not even physically possible for anyone to remove from a building without making a spectacle of themselves. In addition what there is there are specialized pieces of technology, items that aren't in demand by the general public and would be virtually impossible to fence or sell. "Controlled substances" which druggies would seek out are not common lab inventory. Labs use a variety of chemicals in research work but are of no value to addicts.
This was a violent murder, and though we don't know the details, what has been reported seems to point to a crime committed by someone propelled by a personal rage for this woman. Burglary seems the least likely motive.
bleedingheartmex
it also could have been the janitor who no one paid attention to and thought he left his job in 88 and now lives in an empty room in the basement that no one has opened the door to since 87 and just might kill again so dont go down to the basement. hey now that should sell some more books thanks the daily beast
bgeasyas123
Tends to be true that the simplest explanation is the truth, but one can only make an inference to what is the simplest explanation if they have access to the actual evidence, not what is placed in the media's hands. Ms. Murphy already seems to be formulating the simplest explanation based on the information given to the media......sounds a little familiar. Too bad she hasn't learned her lesson. Too bad she didn't come right out and say that the duke lacrosse players being expelled and lawyering up as "Tell Tale Heart" behavior.
This isn't journalism.....this is the groundwork for a smear campaign.
crymeariver
Who is she smearing? I re-read the piece and she didn't
name any names.
nortonclybourn
She's waiting for a suspect. When the Duke lacrosse players got railroaded she made a bunch of wild accusations contrary to the fact, much more outrageous than the Prosecutor who was withholding exculpatory evidence. Of course, he later apologized, unlike Murphy. She was also big on the Satanic Ritual Abuse bandwagon. She likes to feed toddlers a bunch of leading questions, then say that we should "believe the Children," after she edits out the parts about robots, etc. Me, I'd rather take my chances with Satan than trust her.
ToddLC
I thought murders of this sort were supposed to take place at Oxford, not Yale.
physicsdawg
My response to this article: Duh. Does it take an expert to make this analysis? Every word of it is obvious.
This user is no longer registered.
dailyplanet
Whoever committed this crime had to have had a detailed knowledge of the "guts" of the building...its ducts, electrical panels, vents, configurations of construction the average person wouldn't know about; nor would just anybody who worked in the building have (or even need to know) this kind of specialized information This alone increases the odds that this murderer will be found.
DakLak
What a tragic loss.
Likely this woman managed to succeed in her life because her immigrant parents from VietNam scrimped and saved to give their children the best opportunities possible.
Annie's tribute to them is what she had achieved at such a young age. May they find peace of mind.
As for the person who committed this crime: may that persons freedom be short-lived and his life a long one, so he can contemplate his wasted life.
myofbah
I'm glad law enforcement saw her to into the building but "lost track" of her after that. She must've used Harry Potter's invisible coat. Bright they are not!
briand5379
Considering they say this building has all the new security bells and whistles they better have this person on tape. Frankly if they don't there's no excuse. All though it is somewhat compelling that the place where the body was found just happened to be the only place without cameras.
Thank you.
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