Newly released documents from the New Haven Police Department, published by Gawker early Wednesday, shed new light on the circumstances that led to a stabbing and student suicide in May.
The NHPD’s report on the incident, which took place in the Taft Apartments on College Street in the early hours of May 26, reveals that Tyler Carlisle ’15 was involved in a sexual encounter with two other students, one male and one female, before he stabbed the male student once in the neck and then jumped out of a ninth-story window to his death.
At Yale-New Haven Hospital, the male student who was stabbed, Alexander Michaud ’17, described to police officers the events that had led to the stabbing. Michaud, who was named by NHPD spokesman David Hartman in a May 26 press release, was later declared to be in stable condition and fully recovered roughly two weeks after the incident.
“Michaud, [the female student], and Carlisle had all been drinking,” according to the police report. “Carlisle started to get jealous of Michaud and [the female student]. Carlisle grabbed a knife that was on the nightstand next to the bed. Carlisle stabbed Michaud in the neck area.”
The female student has not been publicly identified in any police documents, and her name was redacted from the report that Gawker published online. According to the report, the female student was too distraught to provide a statement to the police at the time of the incident. Both students remain enrolled at Yale.
After the stabbing, according to the police report, Carlisle went into the living room and paced back and forth, saying “I’m sorry,” while the female student called the police and held a t-shirt to Michaud’s neck to stanch the bleeding. Although Michaud told police he did not see Carlisle actually jump, he told police that he recalled him sitting on the windowsill and saying he was going to do so.
Michaud did not attend Carlisle’s memorial service, held early in June, said Reed Morgan ’17, a friend of the two men.
“He worried that his presence would make it more about the incident and less about Tyler’s life,” Morgan said.
As to making sense of the incident, Morgan said, “some things are beyond understanding and we move on by accepting that.”
Editor’s Note: After posting this story Wednesday afternoon, we heard from a number of readers who expressed concerns about the impact of publicizing details of this incident. It is not the News’ intention to cause community members, or anyone, undue pain. Covering this tragedy gives us no pleasure. But the editors decided to move forward with a story, stripped as much as possible of lurid details, to inform readers about newly public information, which helps explain in some small way why this tragedy occurred. Contact the editor at editor@yaledailynews.com.