Body Found in Basement of Yale Medical School

by | September 13, 2009 at 10:06 pm

14yale_650Late this afternoon a woman’s body was found in the basement of 10 Amistad Street at Yale Medical School. Based on the wording of Yale President Richard Levin’s email to the community, the body is presumably Annie Le, the graduate student and bride-to-be who went missing last Wednesday. Today was to have been her wedding day.

Our hearts go out to Annie Le’s family, fiancé and friends, who must suffer the additional ordeal of waiting for the body to be identified.  I have met again with her family and conveyed to them the deeply felt support of the Yale community.

The body—which was hidden inside of the walls of the same building where Le was last seen—has yet to be officially identified by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Yesterday, investigators discovered a set of bloody clothes hidden in the ceiling of the Amistad building. Though the clothes did not match the outfit Le had been wearing when entering the building Wednesday morning, police began searching local landfills and an abandoned industrial area in Hartford for evidence.

Le’s wedding has been canceled and her fiancé, a student at Columbia, is not a suspect.

Read President Levin’s email in full after the jump.

From: “Richard C. Levin” <presidents.office@yale.edu>
Date: September 13, 2009 9:11:47 PM EDT
To: “All Yale Faculty, Students & Staff” <itscomm2@yale.edu>
Subject: Tragic News

To the Yale community:

It is my tragic duty to report that the body of a female was found in the basement of the Amistad Building late this afternoon.  The identity of the woman has not yet been established.  An identification and autopsy will be undertaken by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Our hearts go out to Annie Le’s family, fiancé and friends, who must suffer the additional ordeal of waiting for the body to be identified.  I have met again with her family and conveyed to them the deeply felt support of the Yale community.

Law enforcement officials remain on the scene; this is an active investigation, and we hope it is resolved quickly.  The University has again pledged its full resources and cooperation to assist all the authorities in their work.  I will update you as soon as there is more information.

Richard C. Levin
President

 
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  • YLS

    What a horrible ending to this saga. I was hoping that this was simply a case of cold feet but when the bloody clothes were found yesterday even that tiny bit of hope was extinguished. This event is extremely troubling for the Yale community. Even though safety in New Haven was one of my top concerns before moving here for law school, I was confident that at least the Yale campus was safe. Unfortunately this crime has demonstrated that this can happen in the middle of the day, in a building thought to be secure.

    Poor Annie Le. I feel so horrible for the family.

  • YLS

    What a horrible ending to this saga. I was hoping that this was simply a case of cold feet but when the bloody clothes were found yesterday even that tiny bit of hope was extinguished. This event is extremely troubling for the Yale community. Even though safety in New Haven was one of my top concerns before moving here for law school, I was confident that at least the Yale campus was safe. Unfortunately this crime has demonstrated that this can happen in the middle of the day, in a building thought to be secure.

    Poor Annie Le. I feel so horrible for the family.

  • Y11

    Call me crazy, but I don’t think this says anything new about crime in New Haven. Hopefully we’ll get more details in the near future, but it would appear she was killed INSIDE her lab. Furthermore, the way she was hidden in the wall implies a fairly extensive plan. In other words, this seems to be a personal, targeted killing. It would be one thing if she had been grabbed off the sidewalk and thrown in a dumpster, but this is different. Scarier in context, perhaps, but not for the rest of the Yale/New Haven population.
    -
    In any event, my sincerest condolences to the family. I really hope they get whoever did this.

  • Y11

    Call me crazy, but I don’t think this says anything new about crime in New Haven. Hopefully we’ll get more details in the near future, but it would appear she was killed INSIDE her lab. Furthermore, the way she was hidden in the wall implies a fairly extensive plan. In other words, this seems to be a personal, targeted killing. It would be one thing if she had been grabbed off the sidewalk and thrown in a dumpster, but this is different. Scarier in context, perhaps, but not for the rest of the Yale/New Haven population.
    -
    In any event, my sincerest condolences to the family. I really hope they get whoever did this.

  • YLS

    Y11, I agree that the facts point to this being a targeted, pre-meditated killing. I guess the part that freaks me out is the likelihood that someone with a Yale ID and access to that particular building is the perpetrator. At the same time, that should limit the pool of people who could have done it.

  • YLS

    Y11, I agree that the facts point to this being a targeted, pre-meditated killing. I guess the part that freaks me out is the likelihood that someone with a Yale ID and access to that particular building is the perpetrator. At the same time, that should limit the pool of people who could have done it.

  • y10

    this was a horrible, tragic news story. one suprising thing, though: i wasn’t aware that adam clark estes could write a post about a tragic death without tasteless attempts at humor or jokes at the expense of the deceased. congratulations, adam, and thanks again for that appalling cornell swine flu post which remains up on your site even now.

  • y10

    this was a horrible, tragic news story. one suprising thing, though: i wasn’t aware that adam clark estes could write a post about a tragic death without tasteless attempts at humor or jokes at the expense of the deceased. congratulations, adam, and thanks again for that appalling cornell swine flu post which remains up on your site even now.

  • sasha

    Terribly sad. I hope the idiot who did this gets drawn and quartered in public.

    IvyGate should have a few Editors from each school write short posts (WITH PICTURES) about blog-worthy stuff at their respective schools, then submit them to IvyGate for “approval” (of sorts). This Harvard monopoly is retarded.

  • sasha

    Terribly sad. I hope the idiot who did this gets drawn and quartered in public.

    IvyGate should have a few Editors from each school write short posts (WITH PICTURES) about blog-worthy stuff at their respective schools, then submit them to IvyGate for “approval” (of sorts). This Harvard monopoly is retarded.

  • Ruby

    She left her office abruptly without keys, phone, wallet and walked over to the lab. What else beside a call from say… the department head would prompt her to leave her stuff and quickly walk over. He may have said hey – get over here right now I have something you have to see immediately. Wonder where he spent Labor Day weekend – this happened Tues morning after the building was no doubt empty for the Monday holiday – except for someone like a powerful insider who was miffed that his attentions were rebuffed and that nerve she had to go and get married. Not happening on his watch.

  • Ruby

    She left her office abruptly without keys, phone, wallet and walked over to the lab. What else beside a call from say… the department head would prompt her to leave her stuff and quickly walk over. He may have said hey – get over here right now I have something you have to see immediately. Wonder where he spent Labor Day weekend – this happened Tues morning after the building was no doubt empty for the Monday holiday – except for someone like a powerful insider who was miffed that his attentions were rebuffed and that nerve she had to go and get married. Not happening on his watch.

  • D ’07

    In another post, Estes wrote: “It’s our policy never to take down posts, but as a concession we’ve added a more somber picture and adjusted some language.” Is it also your policy to steal images from New York Times photographers? I’m getting mexed journalistic missages, here.

  • D ’07

    In another post, Estes wrote: “It’s our policy never to take down posts, but as a concession we’ve added a more somber picture and adjusted some language.” Is it also your policy to steal images from New York Times photographers? I’m getting mexed journalistic missages, here.

  • H 10

    Her body has been identified as the one found in the walls of the Yale building earlier. This is one of the few instances where people on ivygate need to stop bickering about what they find wrong with other posts or schools and actually show sympathy that a member of our large academic grouping has been victim of a horrendous crime. My heart goes out to her family and friends and I can only hope that her assailant may be brought to justice, whatever that may be in so unconscionable a crime.

  • H 10

    Her body has been identified as the one found in the walls of the Yale building earlier. This is one of the few instances where people on ivygate need to stop bickering about what they find wrong with other posts or schools and actually show sympathy that a member of our large academic grouping has been victim of a horrendous crime. My heart goes out to her family and friends and I can only hope that her assailant may be brought to justice, whatever that may be in so unconscionable a crime.

  • ella ella ella

    this would never have happened if the students of yale were allowed to carry guns

  • ella ella ella

    this would never have happened if the students of yale were allowed to carry guns

  • @ella ella ella

    That may be the dumbest comment I’ve ever heard… it would happen a lot more often

  • @ella ella ella

    That may be the dumbest comment I’ve ever heard… it would happen a lot more often

  • Y10

    Agree with ella ella ella. More than half of gun deaths come from one percent of gun dealers – all of whom sell weapons illegally.

  • Y10

    Agree with ella ella ella. More than half of gun deaths come from one percent of gun dealers – all of whom sell weapons illegally.

  • tomtom

    A number of studies (studies from places like Uchicago, not the smith and wesson texas academy) have been done that show that areas with concealed carry laws have sharply decreased rates of violent crime, but slightly increased rates of domestic crime. If concealed carry were allowed in Crack Cravin’ Gun Wavin’ New Haven then there would probably be less robberies and murders in general, but not less cases like this, which is closer to the “domestic” side of things.

  • tomtom

    A number of studies (studies from places like Uchicago, not the smith and wesson texas academy) have been done that show that areas with concealed carry laws have sharply decreased rates of violent crime, but slightly increased rates of domestic crime. If concealed carry were allowed in Crack Cravin’ Gun Wavin’ New Haven then there would probably be less robberies and murders in general, but not less cases like this, which is closer to the “domestic” side of things.

  • Wow

    Holy fuck. Shut the fuck up. You guys can’t leave this one alone?

    JUST ONE. TRY IT.

    FUCK. omg.

  • Wow

    Holy fuck. Shut the fuck up. You guys can’t leave this one alone?

    JUST ONE. TRY IT.

    FUCK. omg.

  • Yalie

    Yeah! God, who would want to talk about how to reduce crime and death?!?

    I mourned. I knew Annie personally. This is not her funeral – this is Ivygate.

  • Yalie

    Yeah! God, who would want to talk about how to reduce crime and death?!?

    I mourned. I knew Annie personally. This is not her funeral – this is Ivygate.

  • @tomtom

    Much as Yale’s critics would like to selfishly believe, this murder does not say anything about a relapse in the overall safety of New Haven. “Crack Cravin’ Gun Wavin’ New Haven” died with Suzanne Jovin.

  • @tomtom

    Much as Yale’s critics would like to selfishly believe, this murder does not say anything about a relapse in the overall safety of New Haven. “Crack Cravin’ Gun Wavin’ New Haven” died with Suzanne Jovin.