Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Person Of Interest" Arrested In Yale Grad Student's Murder
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 17, 2009
Modified Sep 17, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 17, 2009
Modified Sep 17, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This morning, New Haven police arrested Raymond Clark for the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le. Clark, 24, an animal lab technician in the Yale facility where Le did research, was taken from the Motel 8 in Cromwell, Connecticut where he had been staying since yesterday. Sources say his DNA matches evidence from the crime scene while there were apparently text messages between him and Le about meeting at the lab on Tuesday, September 8—the last day Le was found. Her asphyxiated body was found in a crawl space in the research building's basement on Sunday, September 13, the day she was to be married.
Clark was charged with murder and is now being held on $3 million bail. New Haven Police Chief James Lewis said that Le, whose hard work brought her $160,000 in scholarships for her college education at University of Rochester and then to Yale as a doctoral student in pharmacology, "was a young woman with unlimited potential." He characterized the killing, "This is not about urban crime, university crime, or campus crime. It's about workplace violence, a growing concern across the country."
Some of the other evidence found: Clark's "Yale swipe card indicated he was the last person to see Le alive. The electronic trail left by his card indicated he had entered the same lab where Le was last seen. Clark also reportedly swiped his identification card at least 10 times in the hours surrounding Le's disappearance, the paper reported. The deep scratches on Clark's body came to light as the Connecticut medical examiner released Le's cause of death as strangulation, or as it was officially described, 'traumatic asphyxia due to neck compression.' Police also found a pair of bloody surgical gloves."
The NY Times' article on Clark begins, "As a high school student in the shoreline town of Branford, Conn., Raymond Clark III joined the Asian Awareness Club, which made spring rolls for a faculty lunch and organized a trip to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year. He joined the Interact Club, which focused on community problems like homelessness. And he played football and baseball, throwing long bombs as a quarterback and knuckleballs as a pitcher." But the Post paints a slightly different picture of Clark back in high school—he is "accused in a 2003 police report of forcing his high-school girlfriend to have sex with him — and vandalizing her locker when she dumped him, it was revealed yesterday."
Tagged
annie le
murder
new haven
Raymond clark
workplace killing
yale
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Black couple seeking Queens apartment sues over racist text from broker
The broker accidentally sent them a text that said "Ugh, they're Black," according to the suit.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. ET
NJ early voting begins Saturday. Here's everything you need to know.
Our 2026 New Jersey voter’s guide for this year’s midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
News
NJ early voting begins Saturday. Here's everything you need to know.
Our 2026 New Jersey voter’s guide for this year’s midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
Countdown clocks are coming to an NYC bus stop near you
By
Stephen Nessen
Are NJ schools unconstitutionally segregated? It's back to the courts to decide.
By
Colleen O'Dea
Early Addition: New Jersey considering a ban on chewing gum because of microplastics
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .