Yale's Annie Le Murder: Ex-Lab Tech Pleads Guilty
The man accused of killing Yale University student Annie Le in 2009 has pleaded guilty.
Raymond Clark III, 26, a former animal research technician, pleaded guilty to murder and criminal attempt to commit sexual assault.
Le, 24, was found stuffed behind a wall five days after she went missing. She was a third-year doctoral student in pharmacology at the prestigious Ivy League university.
Investigators, including the FBI, searched the basement of the Yale Animal Research Center, where Le was last seen. Clark worked at the research center, and Le conducted research there. Le was found on what was supposed to be her wedding day.
Raymond Clark will be sentenced to 44 years, the LA Times reports. Sentencing is scheduled for May 20.
The details of the murder were grisly, Annie Le was found inside a wall, strangled, with a broken jaw and collarbone. Clark's semen was found on Le's panties, which were at her feet. Her bra was pushed up toward her head, the LA Times reports.
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with "malice aforethought", which distinguishes murder from other forms of homicide (such as manslaughter). Malice aforethought is a legal term that means "premeditation" or "predetermination." If you're wondering why there isn't more discussion as to premeditation in this case, that's because under Connecticut's felony murder law, prosecutors don't have to prove that a killing was intentional.
Clark's father read from a statement regarding the Annie Le murder: ''We are proud of Ray for taking responsibility for his actions and pleading guilty ... I want you to know that Ray has expressed extreme remorse from the very beginning ... My family and I extend our deepest sympathy to the Le family," said Clark's father, Raymond Clark II.
Related Resources:
- Raymond Clark Pleads Guilty to Murder of Yale Grad Student Annie Le (ABC)
- Voluntary Manslaughter (FindLaw)
- Murder: Second-degree (FindLaw)