DNA MATCHES; ARREST SAID TO BE NEAR

No caption.
No caption. Photo by AP Photo/JessicaHill.
By , and
Staff Reporter, Staff Reporter, Staff Reporter
Thursday, September 17, 2009

A DNA test has linked Raymond Clark III to the murder of Annie Le GRD ’13, and Clark is expected to be arrested this morning, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Clark, 24, who works at Yale as an animal lab technician, was first detained late Tuesday night, when authorities called him a “person of interest,” served him with two search warrants and took a DNA sample. He was released at 3 a.m. Wednesday and served with two more search warrants.

Various sources familiar with the homicide case has stated that it is as yet unclear what the murderer’s motivation may have been.
Isaac Arnsdorf
Various sources familiar with the homicide case has stated that it is as yet unclear what the murderer’s motivation may have been.
Law enforcement officials took Raymond Clark III into custody Tuesday night at the Middletown, Conn., apartment complex where Clark lives.
Isaac Arnsdorf
Law enforcement officials took Raymond Clark III into custody Tuesday night at the Middletown, Conn., apartment complex where Clark lives.

The source said Clark’s DNA matched a piece of evidence taken from the Yale research facility at 10 Amistad St., where Le was strangled to death Sept. 8 and where her remains were found Sunday, which was supposed to be her wedding day.

New Haven Police Department Chief James Lewis said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that police have collected 250 pieces of physical evidence, interviewed 150 people and watched 700 hours of video footage as part of the investigation to date. He said the DNA tests had been expedited and that he believed “the case is going to end in arrest.”

At the same time Lewis was speaking, authorities were standing outside the Super 8 motel in Cromwell, Conn., where Clark was staying at the time. Investigators have been monitoring Clark since at least Sunday, when New Haven police took over the homicide case, Lewis said Tuesday night.

Reached Wednesday, Clark’s lawyer, David Dworski, said, “We are committed to proceeding appropriately with the authorities, with whom we are in regular communication.” He declined further comment.

One of Clark’s colleagues in the Animal Resources Center said neither Clark nor his sister, brother-in-law or fiancée have shown up for work since Le’s body was found. That colleague said Clark has worked at Yale for two or three years, while Clark’s sister and her husband have been employed by the University for six or seven years.

The colleague, who was told not to talk to the press, said Clark tended to laboratory animals and cleaned their cages in the basement of 10 Amistad St., so he would have been intimately familiar with the floor where Le’s body was found behind a wall.

Richard White, an architect who was consulted on the design of 10 Amistad St., said the mechanical chase in which Le’s body was found had thicker walls than the rest of the building for fire code reasons.

Because chases connect the building’s different floors, he said, the walls would be unusually thick and probably have steel framing. In an address to the medical school community Monday afternoon, University President Richard Levin explained that the material of the wall made it difficult for bloodhounds or humans to locate her.

“It was only after a number of days that the scent became detectable,” Levin said.

White added that there are locks on the chases in the building, though he said they would be about the same quality as regular door locks.

“They’re not terribly secure,” he said, “but they’re secure enough for an honest person.”

The motive for Le’s killing remains unclear. University President Richard Levin, addressing a news report that Clark sent e-mails to Le before her death, said, “To my knowledge there’s nothing that would be relevant to the case” in the correspondence between the two.

Other reports have suggested that Clark had complained about the way Le treated her lab animals. But two University officials called those reports false.

“I’ve not heard anything like that in the entire course of this investigation,” Yale Police Department Chief James Perrotti said.

A high-ranking Yale official added that the University has no record of a complaint filed against Le by anyone, including Clark, concerning her laboratory conduct.

What is known about the case is that Le was last seen entering the 10 Amistad St. building at 10 a.m. on Sept. 8, after leaving her keys, purse and phone in her office at the Sterling Hall of Medicine. She was considered a missing person until Sunday, when her body was found and the case became a homicide.

Le’s family and fiancé, Jonathan Widawsky, have not spoken publicly but issued a statement Tuesday thanking the community for its support and sensitivity.

Zeke Miller contributed reporting from Cromwell, Conn., and Colin Ross contributed reporting from New Haven.

Comments

  • lexingtonave

    Raymond Clark is trapped in a cheap hotel room, pressured, panicked, stressed, knowing the knife is about to fall at ANY SECOND. The police are getting warrants, waking a jugde to sign them and Clark once taken in maybe never see freedom again. I do believe in “innocent until proven guilty” – but it’s very hard to believe with the circumstances, especially the defensive marks he has all over him, to believe he isn’t the murderer. I ache for Annie’s fiance, Jon, and her family and Jon’s family and all their friends and loved ones. I am in Canada but many are following this case and from one student to fellow students – I think we all want JUSTICE FOR ANNIE. Not much that lawyers (no matter how good they are) can do here at least with what I have seen. Maybe a plea and an admitting of guilt would get him some sort of deal – but if he is guilty, he is going to jail for life. So in truth there may not be a plea the DA will even allow. What’t it going to get Clark? The police have gathered a phenomenal amount of evidence and with DNA matches – Ray Clark is going to be arrested and won’t be getting out on bail. Welcome to his new home. How horrific to take a life and devastate so many people’s lives.

    May Annie Le rest in peace.

  • Stephen

    I blame his old girlfriend. If she would have pressed charges againt him in 2003 maybe Yale does not hire him!

  • Wow

    Raymond Clark and Phillip Markoff are both idiots.

  • Bob

    It looks like Annie’s scratches on Clark’s body and his DNA under her fingernails will be the key evidence to sending him to jail for life or death row. Well done Annie. Rest in peace.

  • dave. c.

    it is good news that a arrest in this case is happening, but this has not been about annie le as much as it has been about yale and “their community”. annie was just another senceless vitim, and had she not been a yale student that was murdered at a yale campus building this would have never gotten the attention that it did. anyone who can read or listen could see what this was about yale being a safe place , its not, and annie le is proof. we can only hope that this dna evidence matches and was not rushed to quickly to save the sacred name of yale. god bless to her family.

  • SY

    I hope they analyzed the floor area around the chase after they discovered the body. Shoe-prints of someone who did not belong there leading up to the chase door would have been good evidence to have.

  • Bob

    Poor girl. Young, pretty, brilliant, dedicated, huge potential. Life cut short, way too short, just as she was about to begin. I am so sorry for her and her family and friends but especially for her fiance. I cannot imagine how they all feel. Rest in peace Annie. At least the monster who did this has been caught and will never harm anyone again.

  • Stephen

    Will Yale change the rules about lab techs? Why not have female lab techs with female students? Hoping he gets the DP!

  • Nate

    @ #2, you’re kidding, right? IF he is the killer, than he’s the only one to blame cause he had a choice to do it or not….no reason to blame his old girlfriend.

  • ScumOfTheEarth

    Clark is scum – you could see it in the first photos of him when he was being taken in for DNA samples – he looked guilty as sin.

    And, what a moron…by committing the crime in a new building with cameras and pass code door access he all but guaranteed getting caught.

  • Ilya

    First, it seems that the police did not have probable cause for a DNA warrant and that evidence will be admitted at trial. There were several people who had access to the lab where Le was killed and only a “hunch” would point to Clark. Seocnd, assumming that there was some sort of DNA match, that would prove that there was a physical altercation that could have been started by the decedent not necessarily the accused. This could be a homicide less than a murder if Le started the altercation and said something really offensive that set Clark off.

    What would not make any sense is that Clark swiped his Yale Identification card to get into the building, only to commit murder a couple of hours later. That simply does not make sense. New Haven Police and Yale officials need a suspect and now they have one.

  • tp

    In response to Dave C. Saying about “Yale and their community” being not a safe place. Are you kidding me? How can a community be responsible for a sick mind of an individual like Mr. Clark? Nobody knows what is in Mr. Clark’s mind except himself. Where is the personal responsibility here? Dave C seems to follow the pattern of thought prevalent in today’s society, “The Blame Game”. Oh yes, Dave, let’s blame the Yale community.
    On that context, can I make Dave C. responsible for a rapist in his neighborhood just because he lives in that neighborhood? In my opinion, this is not a statement that an intelligent individual will make. That says a lot, doesn’t it?

  • yale2010

    @ #8,
    that assumes all men are attracted to women, all women cannot fight off a man, and all women are not attracted to other women.
    and none of these are true.

  • laramy

    #10, unbelievable! I am betting you are a male. Put yourself in her shoes (probably not your strong suit) and see how you react.

  • Carly

    We got him Annie. I’m so sorry this happend. You are a beautiful beautiful person. Rest in peace.

  • Carly

    Comment #10 needs to be deleted….How dare you say she should have let anything happen to her? Let alone rape….according to police she was not raped, he was just psycho enough to strangle her to death. Just so you know, it was because of the fight she gave Ray Clark that they were able to cath his ass when they did. She left every bit of evidence she could. Annie Le should be respected…she left this world fighting and she should be remembered as the strong beautiful person that she was.

  • dave c.

    i am a yale grad. and sometimes the truth hurts, but like i said if this was someone murdered, not attached to yale, would this have gotten this kind of attention. smarten up!!!!

  • fac

    Does Yale do background checks on all employees? If the press easily found out about the high school date rape and harassment case that was dropped by the victim, wouldn’t that have come up in a background check? Just because she was scared and dropped the charges, doesn’t mean he didn’t do it, and doesn’t mean he should be allowed to be around students in a university setting. Yale needs to tighten up hiring practices. What of the retiree who went to HR last week w/ a gun, ammo and bomb? And what of the dining hall employee arrested for prostitution last year? Come on, Yale, we can do better than all of that.

  • @9

    Number 2 is NOT kidding, or at least he/she shouldn’t be. If his ex-girlfriend had pressed charges for his rape against her, his opportunities would have been limited and he would have less of a chance to commit a crime like this.

    This IS a cautionary tale about how crime victims should not hesitate to press charges against their perpetrators.

    Clark’s ex-girlfriend has some culpability here that can/should not be overlooked.

  • @dave c., ’12

    Dave C,

    You are lying on the internet. Let’s examine the evidence…

    “senceless” (juvenile typo)
    “if this was someone murdered” (grammar)
    “vitim” (another amateurish typo)
    “smarten up!!!” (cliche)
    “yale and ‘their community’” (note the “their”)
    “the sacred name of yale” (sarcasm)

    You are NOT a Yale grad. Even the anonymity of this forum cannot hide that you are an outsider.

    As an aside, I actually agree with most of your points, namely that this has had so much coverage because a yale student was involved. However, your comment that “anyone who can read or listen could see what this was about yale being a safe place , its not, and annie le is proof” is entirely untrue!!!

  • Ruby

    I agree that had his old girlfriend pressed charges, Yale may not have hired him. However following that logic, what does it say about the Pharmacology Dept. chairman’s antics with his secretary, her law suit and the settlement out of court? Should all men with a record of bullying women be prevented from working at Yale?

  • C Chen

    It seems every workplace has a super-demon like Raymond Clark. As lab-students described ” demanding; officious; strict proctocol ” and ” screams or yells if you don’t put your shoe-covers certain ways”. I hop the media won’t downplay and called it ” disagree on how animals are treated”. It’s not and certainly not a manslaughter. This is a half-wit Hitler in the making that shattered the lives of our country’s nicest and brightest and cowardly held a city besieged. Annie being Asian and petite but not subservient to his fantasized POWER also like pouring oil on fire. This junior “super-demon’ should be elimiated from the human race like they should have done in Germany.

  • Overman

    @@dave c., ’12,

    You forgot to capitalize Yale in your last paragraph. I only mention it because I wouldn’t want someone to mistake YOU for an outsider. Gross.

    Oh, and also, “…has had so much coverage…” could read better. How about “…has received so much coverage…?” Let me know.

    Warm regards,
    Intelligent Insider

  • @21

    Clark’s issues with his ex-girlfriend was not merely a matter of “bullying”. Reports are that he RAPED her.

    But to answer your question “should all men with a history of bullying women be prevented from working at Yale?” The simple answer is Yes. The more complex answer is: All PEOPLE with a history of bullying ANYONE should be prevented from working ANYWHERE until they can show proof that they have dealt with or are at least dealing with their problem.

  • God Bless

    God bless Annie and her family. May your soul be at peace.

  • Amy

    “it is good news that a arrest in this case is happening, but this has not been about annie le as much as it has been about yale and “their community”.”

    This quote is so true. It sickens me how many people are playing this up to be about them and their worries.

  • @@dave in #20

    Many Yale students hand in work with what you call ‘juvenile’ errors in spelling, typing and grammar. They complain that the grader was so blinded by petty trivia that he missed the penetrating insights that their writing actually conveyed. Yale students aren’t what they used to be.

  • Jerry

    C Chen writes: “This junior “super-demon’ [sic] should be elimiated [sic] from the human race like they should have done in Germany. ”

    “like they should have done in Germany”?

    In conclusion: WTF.

  • Wiseman

    This is a crime of pure rage, unplanned, uncontrolled and in the heat of passion. The classic 2nd Degree Murder scenario. Not even an idiot would PLAN to commit such a crime in a secured Lab. As a result the death penalty is not applicable. Its even possible Clark could be parolled someday if convicted on this charge.

  • Wiseman

    @dave c.,’12: Announcing such a pedestrian assumption (that people who misspell and have bad grammar cannot be Yale “Insiders”) would lead some to believe you are an “Outsider”. I, having past experience with Yalies’s, know it in fact confirms the opposite.

    UC Berkeley, class of 93′

  • yalie

    This scumbag should be tried in Texas or Florida. No actually, his balls should be cut off, and then he should be thrown into a pit full of poisonous scorpions and man-eating lions.

    Rest in peace, Annie.

  • Damola

    The Bible says,” greater is the one that rules his own spirit than whom that taketh a city.” Sinful anger and rage led to this. Raymond Clarke should be kept away from society until tried in Texas. All you control freaks out there, beware.

  • RIP Annie

    @#29

    “Wow”… what a reason to kill… out of passion & being uncontrolled. (*note the sarcasm here)

    Raymond Clark III is a sick individual with obvious problems… he killed an innocent life!! He cannot play God and run away with it. Who is he to take a life?!

    While your point may be valid and could be a possible argument made by Raymond Clark III and his lawyers… I pray to God that there is a judge & jury that has more than half a brain on their shoulders than to believe all that nonsense that he cannot control his anger and that the judge would applaud his actions that the only senseless and cruel solution to solve his problem was to kill someone. My God, I hope he gets life in prison and no chance of parole. He took an innocent life and he should pay for it. This one action of “rage, heat of passion” or whatever you want to call it has cost a life & shattered the lives of her family and loved ones. I hope there isn’t an idiot judge/jury that would believe that he had a “lapse in judgement or sanity”… Insane or not, uncontrolled rage or passion… bottom line is he murdered someone and he has to pay for it. No excuses for his actions. Call it as it is. First degree murder & Life in prison with no chance of parole! Annie’s life was just beginning and now she’s gone. RIP Annie. May there be justice for you & justice for your family.

  • loan ranger

    Many seem so gullible at this forum rushing to judgment.

    Media can make anyone appear guilty.

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