Medical Examiner: Yale Student Was Strangled

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (USATODAY) - A Yale University graduate student found dead behind a wall in a research building was strangled to death, Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Wayne Carver said Wednesday.

The official cause of death for Annie Le, 24, is "traumatic asphyxia due to neck compression," Linda Sylvia, Carver's executive secretary, said.

The revelation came in the wake of the recent news more than a dozen police and FBI agents had stormed the apartment building in nearby Middletown, Conn., of a university animal research technician and taken him into custody. Le and the technician, Raymond Clark III, 24, worked in the lab. New Haven Police Chief James Lewis had described Clark as a "person of interest" in the slaying.

Authorities released Clark early Wednesday into the custody of his lawyer, David Dworski of Fairfield. Clark was not charged in the death.

Clark is "committed to proceeding appropriately with the authorities," Dworski said.

Le's body was found stuffed behind a wall in a Yale laboratory on Sunday, the same day she was to have been married.

On the surface, the atmosphere around that lab building appeared lighter Wednesday. Amistad Street has been reopened to traffic and only one strip of police tape blocks the building entrance. But beneath the surface, Le's death weighed heavily on the minds of researchers, students and faculty who regularly conduct official business inside the building.

"People are very upset about the death of this girl who had a great future," said Angela Huang, 25, a bioengineering graduate student.

A representative from campus security met earlier Wednesday with people who work inside the building, but Huang, who attended, said the representative did little to enlighten her more about the case.

"He didn't really say much," said Huang, a native of Queens, N.Y.

Huang's comments came hours after authorities swarmed on Clark's apartment in Middletown. Lewis, the New Haven police chief, said authorities executed two search warrants, one for the home and one to obtain DNA samples from Clark. He said police were hoping to compare DNA taken from him to evidence at the crime scene.

"We're going to be making sure there's not other suspects out there," Lewis said.

Neighbors who spoke Wednesday with USA TODAY said Clark lived with his girlfriend.

"They were really quiet, going in and out from work, with the dog," said Lorraine Falcon-Henry, 32, who lives with her four children in a ground floor apartment near where Clark lived. "He'd say hi, whatever. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen him."

She said she didn't understand the applause and cheers when Clark was taken into custody Tuesday night. "Ninety five percent of this community didn't know him. What they were clapping for I don't know."

Alicia McClean was one of the neighbors clapping when he was taken away "head down, embarrassed." McClean said she clapped because she hoped she was watching the resolution of a brutal murder case.

The 3-year-old building just off Main Street in Middletown is restricted to tenants who make up to 60% of the area median income. The one-bedroom apartment Clark shared with his girlfriend rents for $821 a month.

Residents had been irked by heavy police presence - unmarked cars and plainclothes detectives - at the building since Sunday.

Tuesday night police were in Clark's apartment collecting evidence until the early hours. The next day Annamarie DaCosta, 39, was still in her pajamas in late morning. "You can't sleep when there are generators running all night and flashing lights."

DaCosta said Clark should be considered "innocent until proven guilty."

Clark's detention Tuesday came as Le's family reached out publicly for the first time.

"The entire Yale community as well as our extended families and friends have been very supportive, helpful and caring," said Dennis Smith, a local pastor and family friend. "Our loss would have been immeasurably more difficult to cope with without their support."

Smith represented both Le's family and that of Jonathan Widawsky, a Columbia University graduate student whom Le had planned to marry last Sunday.

Chief Medical Examiner Wayne Carver had planned to disclose the cause of Le's death on Tuesday, but at the request of police and prosecutors, he withheld autopsy results to avoid compromising the investigation, said his executive secretary, Linda Sylvia. Carver classified the pharmacology student's death as a homicide.

Security systems and surveillance cameras captured everyone who had access to the tightly controlled basement laboratory where Le's body was found, Yale President Richard Levin said.

The cameras show Le, 24, entered the Amistad building at Yale's medical complex last Tuesday morning but never left. A roommate reported Le missing that night, but police did not find her body until Sunday. The building remained open for several days after her disappearance.

Clark was taken into custody Tuesday night at his apartment in Middletown, Conn., and was released about 3 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Police left the apartment Wednesday morning after searching the scene for hours overnight looking for evidence.

Lewis said police were hoping to compare DNA taken from Clark's hair, fingernails and saliva to more than 150 pieces of evidence collected from the crime scene. That evidence may also be compared at a state lab with DNA samples given voluntarily from other people with access to the crime scene.

"We're going to narrow this down," Lewis said. "We're going to do this as quickly as we can."