Thursday, September 10, 2009

Annie Le, Yale Grad Student, Disappears Less That A Week Before Her Wedding 9-16 Raymond Clark Update




Mysteriously a Yale graduate student disappears and no one knows what happened? Something is fishy. Annie Le, 24, is missing. There is no reported sign of struggle. There is no video evidence of an attack. The Yale University Police Department is asking for the public's help but one wonders why the med school was not more involved in the initial search? (The school has its own security and surveillance system.)Annie Le, 24, has not been seen since September 8, 2009. She is a 4'11" Asian-female with brown, shoulder length hair, brown eyes and weighs in at 90 lbs. She was last seen wearing a brown skirt, a bright green short-sleeved t-shirt, brown shoes and a brown necklace. A surveillance photo is apparently the last time anybody has seen Le. Le swiped a security card to get into the building on the day she disappeared. She never swiped a card to leave the building.

Le is a pharmacology student at Yale and was on her way to the lab on Amistad Street in New Haven. (If surveillance tape never shows her exiting the building, than they should look harder in the building. If surveillance tape shows her outside of the building as has been leaked, than the initial focus should have immediately included the FBI and forensic units.) To be missing in a building and not be initially found is not a novel idea. Leah Hickman a student at Marshall University who went missing in December of 2007 and Eridania Rodriguez, who went missing at a Manhattan office building last July are both examples of victims hidden in buildings. The focus of law enforcement and of the public ought to be educated. Surveillance tapes are not that complicated. Publish what they show and direct the focus accordingly.



This does not sound like a planned disappearance. Le left behind all her belongs, including her pocketbook and cell phone in the lab. She has not been home nor has she called her fiance. She was to be married on Sunday. By all accounts, her fiance is a good guy and is helping with the search. He is not a suspect.

If you have any information on Annie Le's whereabouts, please contact the Yale Police Department at (203) 432-4400 or Legalpub@legalpub.net.


Update 9-10-09: More details have surfaced. The Connecticut State Police and the FBI have joined the hunt for Annie. Annie is engaged to Jonathan Widawsky. Widawsky is a graduate student at Columbia University. He has fully cooperated in the search for Annie. Annie is originally from Placerville, California. She is a doctorate student in pharmacology at Yale's Med School. She graduated from University of Rochester in 2007. She was apparently working on a project in the Yale lab when she went missing. She used her Yale ID to enter the lab at 10:00 a.m. A fire alarm was pulled at the building at 1 p.m. Video is being searched to see if Le left when the building was evacuated. (One source has leaked that there was a photo of Le outside the building, but it has not confirmed.)

Update 9-11-09: Despite a search of the area and dumpsters around the lab, there has been no evidence discovered of a struggle. Dogs apparently were unable to provide any help. Le's apartment was also searched. No information has been shared to confirm any evidence of violence as of this date.
Update 9-14-09: Sunday evening, a body was found inside a wall at 10 Amistad Street, according to Peter Reichard, New Haven, Connecticut, assistant police chief. While the body was not identified yet as Annie Le, there is little doubt that it is in fact Annie. Bloody clothing was also found BUT NOT the clothing that Annie was wearing. The trash bin is being searched for further evidence.
Update 9-15-09: Expect an arrest real soon. While police deny it, several news outlets have reported that police have interviewed a possible suspect who allegedly failed a polygraph test. The person of interest apparently also has some defensive wounds. ABC News, WNBC-TV, The New Haven Register and the New Haven Independent are relying on "anonymous sources." The possible suspect is believed to be a lab technician. Police are merely saying that the investigation is ongoing and that there is a "large amount" of physical evidence.

Update 9-16-09: Police have taken Raymond Clark III into custody (but not yet officially under arrest) and searched his apartment. Clark has apparently lived with a girl friend in the apartment for the last six months. (Police executed two warrants concerning Raymond Clark III, an animal research technician at Yale.) Clark was handcuffed and brought to the police station in a silver car. (He then was apparently allowed to stay at a local motel under heavy police guard.) Mr Clark is believed to have known Le. However, he has not been charged with any crime. DNA results are still pending. He is to be presumed innocent until otherwise proven in a court of law.

Update 9-16-09: Connecticut's state medical examiner says a Yale University grad student died of traumatic asphyxiation. (Strangulation.) Currently, Clark is only a person of interest.

Update 9-17-09: Clark is represented by attorney David Dworski of Fairfield. Meanwhile, the Hartford Courant has reported that computer records show Clark was the last person to see Le alive. Le’s and Clark’s movements were apparently traced through their computerized swipe cards. Clark apparently entered the same basement room in the lab a short time after Le had entered. Le was never seen again. Le's card was never used again. According to ABC, the suspect may have defensive wounds (circumstantial evidence.) In addition, the suspect may have failed a lie detector test (this has yet to be verified and if true, was probably given before the involvement of counsel.)Bloody clothing removed from the lab may or may not be linked to the crime. Final DNA results should be available soon. Clark pictured above from MySpace..

Update June -6-2011:  Clark, 26, received a 44-year prison sentence that will likely keep him jailed until September 2053. "Assuming he survives his incarceration,"who will be there waiting for him? Most, if not all, of his family will be gone. He will have no real future." explained Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney John Waddock to the press.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seems like more than "run a way bride syndrome."

Anonymous said...

Maybe she has been killed and then hidden somewhere in the building.

Anonymous said...

That is what happened to the other two folks that L.P. cites in the story.

Anonymous said...

Leah Hickman and Eridania Rodriguez
were both stashed in the building in which they were killed.

Anonymous said...

Annie was a shooting star. The world would be a worse place without her.

Anonymous said...

She was so tiny, she could have been carried out in a garbage can. Interview the maintenance and cleaning staff.

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-10-09: More details have surfaced. The Connecticut State Police and the FBI have joined the hunt for Annie. Annie is engaged to Jonathan Widawsky. Widawsky is a graduate student at Columbia University. Annie is originally from Placerville, California. She is a doctorate student in pharmacology at Yale's Med School. She graduated from University of Rochester in 2007. She was apparently working on a project in the Yale lab when she went missing. She used her Yale ID to enter the lab at 10:00 a.m. A fire alarm was pulled at the building at 1 p.m. Video is being searched to see if Le left when the building was evacuated.

Anonymous said...

Cops had the dogs sniffing for any trace of Annie.

Anonymous said...

A preliminary leak of information indicates that Le was last seen outside of the building. If that is confirmed, you can do an update.

Anonymous said...

After Jennifer Wilbanks apparently fled her impending marriage and later falsified a kidnapping, any case now days creates a lot of speculation. Let's hope the police have taken this serious from moment one.

Secrets said...

This is so sad.

It doesnt feel like a runaway bride situation.

I think it was someone she knew. I dont think this is a stranger abduction.

Unless she was being stalked....

I hope they find her alive!!

Legal Pub said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Legal Pub said...

Annie Le's wrote an article, called "Crime and Safety in New Haven." In February, it was published in a magazine produced by Yale's medical school. It compares robbery in New Haven to cities that house other Ivy League schools. It includes an interview with Yale Police Chief James Perrotti, who offers advice such as "pay attention to where you are" and "avoid portraying yourself as a potential victim."

Le concluded: "In short, New Haven is a city and all cities have their perils... But with a little street smarts, one can avoid becoming yet another statistic."

Le was last seen Tuesday at her laboratory in the Yale Medical School complex, slightly less than a mile from the main campus.

So far garbage bins near the lab and her apartment have been searched without any evidence of foul play being discovered.

Anonymous said...

How can there be no sign of struggle unless she knew the person or people she left with?

Doc said...

Here is one possible suggestion:
A possibiity besides foul play when someone leaves their ID, keys etc. behind is some kind of dissociative episode. In theory, this can be triggered by an upcoming major life event. (Marriage?) Let's hope she turns up unharmed.

Doc

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-11-09: Despite a search of the area and dumpsters around the lab, there has been no evidence discovered of a struggle. Dogs apparently were unable to provide any help. Le's apartment was also searched. No information has been shared to confirm any evidence of violence as of this date.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone checked the roof? I'm sure they have but just in case. From Google Maps that building looks huge.

Anonymous said...

Okay, we're all speculating but firstly, I find the fire alarm a bit coincidental to her being in the building. Maybe she pulled the alarm? Check the fire alarm pulls for prints?? Secondly, if it's true that there's a parking garage attached to this building, that raises questions regarding removal of her by way of vehicle, perhaps concealed from camera view. One can also speculate that triggering a fire alarm would allow for perpetrator's removal of her stuffed in a large box or container amidst the chaos without much question. Just some thoughts.

Legal Pub said...

Correct observations. Starting with the building is huge. But there are over 70 surveillance cameras. Yale should have been on this immediately. Second, very little has been released to the public. That does not help in cases like this. When the trail is warm it is easier for the public to help.

The parking garage is a wild card. But there simply is no evidence of a struggle inside (at least based on the limited information available.)

It is reasonable to think that she is either still in this massive building, or she left alive via the parking garage.

Finger print dusting of the fire alarm is a must, but one wonders if Yale was smart enough to do that before the police and FBI got involved. My guess is that they simply reset the alarm since they did not know that she was missing yet. At the least, it should have served as an area in which to start the investigation because it is doubtful this is a coincidence.

Finally, the fiance has offered a $10,000 reward for information about Annie. By all accounts, he is a good guy who has been very helpful in the search.

Anonymous said...

Were the killers of the other 2 ever found? Maybe a killer no one would expect it to be. Some one that really acts like they are helping but are just there to make sure the body was not found. Some one that she knew and trusted.Someone that knows the building inside out and the cameras work. check these also for prints. and also the tile that was removed, check all the cameras and see if there was a picture placed in front of the camera. She must have went there to meet a friend she trusted, maybe a friend that was upset she was getting married.

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-14-09: Sunday evening, a body was found inside a wall at 10 Amistad Street, according to Peter Reichard, New Haven, Connecticut, assistant police chief. While the body was not identified yet as Annie Le, there is little doubt that it is in fact Annie. Bloody clothing was also found BUT NOT the clothing that Annie was wearing. The trash bin is being searched for further evidence.

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-15-09: Expect an arrest real soon. While police deny it, several news outlets have reported that police have interviewed a possible suspect who allegeddly failed a polygraph test. The person of interest apparently also has some defensive wounds. ABC News, WNBC-TV, The New Haven Register and the New Haven Independent are relying on "anonymous sources." The possible suspect is believed to be a lab technician. Police are merely saying that the investigation is ongoing and that there is a "large amount" of physical evidence.

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-16-09: Police have taken Raymond Clark III into custody and searched his apartment. Clark has apparently lived with a girl friend in the apartment for the last six months. (Police executed two warrants concerning Raymond Clark III, an animal research technician at Yale.) Clark was handcuffed and brought to the police station in a silver car. Mr Clark is believed to have known Le. However, he has not been charged with any crime. DNA results are still pending. He is to be presumed innocent until otherwise proven in a court of law.

Anonymous said...

Rumors: These are stories that are not verified. They can't be taken as fact.

Such a rumor is that Ray's girl friend, Jennifer, allegedly believed that Ray was having an affair with someone at the lab back in May.

This has spiraled into a further rumor that Ray asphyxiated Annie because he was acting as a jealous ex lover. Quite a leap of illogical reasoning at this point.

Anonymous said...

Rumors: These are stories that are not verified. They can't be taken as fact.

Such a rumor is that Ray's girl friend, Jennifer, allegedly believed that Ray was having an affair with someone at the lab back in May.

This has spiraled into a further rumor that Ray asphyxiated Annie because he was acting as a jealous ex lover. Quite a leap of illogical reasoning at this point.

Legal Pub said...

Rumors have little or no use here...

Update 9-16-09: Connecticut's state medical examiner says a Yale University grad student died of traumatic asphyxiation. (Strangulation.) Currently, Clark is only a person of interest.

Legal Pub said...

Update 9-17-09: Clark is represented by attorney David Dworski of Fairfield. Meanwhile, the Hartford Courant has reported that computer records show Clark was the last person to see Le alive. Le’s and Clark’s movements were apparently traced through their computerized swipe cards. Clark apparently entered the same basement room in the lab a short time after Le had entered. Le was never seen again. Le's card was never used again. According to ABC, the suspect may have defensive wounds (circumstantial evidence.) In addition, the suspect may have failed a lie detector test (this has yet to be verified and if true, was probably given before the involvement of counsel.)Bloody clothing removed from the lab may or may not be linked to the crime. Final DNA results should be available soon. Clark pictured above from MySpace..

Anonymous said...

According to the New York Times:

Hromadka, 23, Clarks girl friend, flatly rejected any suggestion that Clark had ever strayed.

"This rumor of a 'fling' is probably the most stupid thing I have ever heard and really is not even worth going into detail about," she wrote.

"If you know what I am talking about u can probably (if you have half a brain) come to the conclusion that its all a load of BS."

Related Topics

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/09/16/2009-09-16

Anonymous said...

Could the romance rumor have been created by the defense in order to lobby for some crime of passion defense to mitigate the sentence?

Legal Pub said...

In an unrelated case,a missing person case has been solved. At a news conference in Corvallis, Oregon, Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson announced that Joel Courtney had pleaded guilty to aggravated murder of 19-year-old Brooke Wilberger. Wilberger was abducted five years ago. Courtney will spend life in prison without any possibility of release.

Anonymous said...

Was it the Dna or the failed lie detector test that did the suspect in?

Anonymous said...

Does it matter? One sick puppy.

Legal Pub said...

Someone recently asked us to update this story. In June of 2011, Clark, 26, received a 44-year prison sentence.