Yale killing

danieliza1127

They arrested the guy we were talking about yesterday.  I'm so glad they caught him.[url]http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/17/yale.student.le/index.html[/url]The article says an arrest is "imminent" but the breaking news part is that they did arrest him.

jillzlee

Im so relieved too. I hope this really is the guy and that justice is brought. I pray for peace for her and her finacee's family.

SwedishChick2011

Well, if he did it (which he probably did if there's DNA evidence), he's an idiot. How do people think they're going to get away with this stuff?

*BeachBride0410*

The police released him though...

danieliza1127

beachbride - he was released earlier this week after they brought him in on a warrant ONLY to get his DNA.  Now that they have a DNA match, he's arrested for real, for murder.

*BeachBride0410*

oh good!!!  Did he have any kind of motive? 

danieliza1127

They haven't said yet.  According to the article, he was answering questions then clammed up and got an attorney.  He was a tech/janitor at her building.

jillzlee

I heard something on the news this morning about how he did not like the way she was treating the lab mice...what a freak!

SwedishChick2011

Maybe he was obsessed with her, even though he (and she) were both engaged to other people. Maybe she rejected him and then he went crazy.

buttaflai

They were discussing how she was a PhD candidate and how he was a tech and that the social inequalities could have been a factor. I thought that was interesting, but probably just A factor, not THE factor. Students commented about how the people in the town are working class "townies" and they get these bright, successful students coming in every year - that there's a "riff" as one put it. Opinions? Could that REALLY be a factor? I know it's speculation, but maybe an interesting discussion topic.

buttaflai

how he did not like the way she was treating the lab miceHe complained about how she didn't wear booties in the lab.

danieliza1127

Opinions? Could that REALLY be a factor?I think it could be A factor, like you said.  Maybe they had several run-ins and he just lost it.  She was strangled so it could be that he grabbed her and just didn't let go, like a crime of passion.  Maybe it was something much more, like him being attracted her and her rejecting him.  I just really want to know more information, like how he was able to do this, stash clothes in the ceiling and her body in the wall, with no one noticing anything. 

banana468

Some people can get up in arms about the treatment of the lab mice.  That can be part of it.And to bring it back to TK, I hope that he and the FI haven't used any of their wedding gifts yet.  I have a feeling that this one may be postponed indefinitely.

danieliza1127

And to bring it back to TK, I hope that he and the FI haven't used any of their wedding gifts yet. I have a feeling that this one may be postponed indefinitely.Hahaha, just goes to show those that say "oh our wedding will NOT be called off" can be wrong.  No one ever expects their FI to be a psycho killer.

banana468

Exactly danieliza!  Although I do hope that there are no issues with BIL's next weekend.   I'm even taking more vitamins so I can do my best to NOT be sick for it. 

Sabina1313

They arrested him at the motel right down the street from where I work... place was swarmed with media and cops from what I heard (I work from home now but my friend who is still in the office said it was an absolute zoo on her way in)

MeaghanandMichael

Opinions? Could that REALLY be a factor? I know it's speculation, but maybe an interesting discussion topic.Yes. I went to grad school at Yale and lived in New Haven for over 3 years. If it is not a factor in this case, it is a factor in MANY crimes committed against Yale/UNH/Quinnapiac students in the area. New Haven has high levels of poverty and these student often times have a great deal of wealth making them easy targets. We had our car broken into three times and we lived on what was considered a 'safe' street. About two times a week would would recieve an email over the college email system telling us about a mugging of a student. It is truly horrible and it feels like Yale has left it sadly unadressed.

buttaflai

[i]About two times a week would would recieve an email over the college email system telling us about a mugging of a student.[/i]Meaghan, thanks for sharing. Some of the students they interviews last night said the same thing. If Yale isn't addressing it before, they will have to now that this is such a high profile case.

danieliza1127

I don't really think this is the same thing though, do you?  I guess it could be, just taken to the extreme.  I think more will come out though about how well he knew her or how much contact they really had.  I don't think this was a random crime, like mugging a student or breaking into a car.  I think he must have had some serious feelings toward her to prompt this - whether the feelings were resentment for who she was, or unrequited love type feelings still remains to be seen.

LucyD1029

My mom works at Yale and the psychiatrists she works with seem to think this was a crime of passion.  New Haven is known for being a bad area, but this could have happened anywhere. 

MeaghanandMichael

My mom works at Yale and the psychiatrists she works with seem to think this was a crime of passion. New Haven is known for being a bad area, but this could have happened anywhere. Agreed. But it is worth exploring general attitudes of the Yale PD towards New Haven and the other way around.

LucyD1029

Meaghan, I'm sure that's an issue worth exploring too.

foolforfood

I think the timing of the murder shows that there was a stalker issue, or some sort of intimate relationship between the two.  Either way, this will make it into a Law & Order SVU episode pretty soon.I don't think her murder highlights a class issue...it highlights how our society treats women.  Violence and aggression towards women seems to be accepted.  Note the perp's previous history of violence that Yale did not catch. 

mrsLesGrossman

I understand the crime issue to an extent.  Are these students street smart?  I really doubt that is true.  In NY, Columbia University is bordering Harlem.  Not the nice, gentrified Harlem, the projects and seriously dangerous areas.  The students are street smart and are aware of their surroundings.  The problem with a lot of book smart and sheltered students, they don't understand how the real world works.  I am so thankful for being an aware person.  I went to Emory for under grad and Atlanta also has their problems, some students have gone through being robbed too.  I am happy he was taken in with DNA evidence, the other things were not enough to hold him.  When I heard about his treatment of animals and his girlfriend, I knew he was off. 

ExpatPumpkin

Sounds like the Yale murder was a crime of passion, unrequited love, something to that effect. Resentment over her being an academic and him a townie could have also played into it... Regarding such resentment, I also believe that it's a point of tension where ever the priviledged and the not so priviledged overlap. Saw it when I was in boarding school and at undergrad. It's a shame since the two communities are so interdependent.

danieliza1127

I understand what you're saying E, that's what makes this scary too because she thought she was doing the right thing by not taking items with her when she moved from building to building.  She had even written an article about campus safety, that's why she left her cell phone and purse and stuff in her office when she went to the building where she was killed.  She thought she was doing the right thing.  People always think stranger = danger, but usually it's someone you know.

foolforfood

I spent a summer at Columbia and I felt extremely safe.  Those were the Guiliani years, so I'm not sure if things have changed for the worse.  From what I remember, the university was really proactive about keeping good relations with the community.  BTW, the area is extremely gentrified.  In fact, Bill Clinton's relocation to 125th St. epitomizes gentrification.

ExpatPumpkin

[i]People always think stranger = danger, but usually it's someone you know.[/i] Very true. This is why husbands and parents are also the first persons of suspect in the murder/disappearance of a wife/child. In this poor girl's case, it was someone she saw everyday and even if she didn't particularly care for him, she probably wasn't scared. Which made what he did easier

ggmae

Thank goodness. One thing I have noticed the national media stations doing is that they have been focusing on New Haven's crime statistics. Sure, it's not the safest area but it's not the worst either and like E said, if you have street smarts then you are better off than those who don't. It's nice to see that they are trying to reiterate that this act had nothing to do with New Haven itself and was not a random act, but was committed by someone who knew her.

ExpatPumpkin

I agree with all who defend New Haven. This shouldn't be an opportunity to vilify the town... The way Aruba was portrayed after Natalie Hollaway went missing was horrendous, for example. This could happen anywhere.

LucyD1029

I've gone to school and worked in bad parts of Boston.  Street smarts are only going to get you so far if one of your co-workers wants to kill you.