Yale student murdered, questions linger

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.) – As Annie Le’s family makes funeral arrangements in California, police in New Haven, Connecticut, say they do not expect anyone else to be arrested for her murder. Le was a Yale University graduate student. Her body was found behind a wall in a lab where she did research. A lab technician is charged with her murder. Raymond Clark III is charged with the murder of Annie Le at Yale University. The case drew national attention, bringing major news organizations into New Haven. Perhaps, the smallest paper covering the story, though, did one of the best jobs. Yale Daily News Editor-In-Chief Thom Kaplan says they went into overdrive, and he says, as Yale students, they had advantages and disadvantages. Sources in this case were a double-edged sword. New Haven Police Chief James Lewis said several times during the week leading up to the arrest that much of the information being reported and attributed to unnamed sources was simply wrong. A lot of it was on the money, though, including Clark’s name, which was circulating for at least two days before police named him as a person of interest. Leaks like that have some calling for action. Thomas Ullman is the top public defender here in New Haven. He sent a letter to Michael Dearington, the top prosecutor complaining about the leaks. He told Dearington that an investigation should be held. That if any judicial or police personnel were found to have leaked information to the media they should be disciplined. Perhaps even fired. Ullman says such leaks endangered the investigation, Clark’s rights to a fair trial and perhaps, even his safety. Kaplan says the Yale Daily News was careful to confirm everything it printed and the misinformation reported by others still hurts in the Yale community. Kaplan is thinking about a career in journalism and he says he was surprised how much bad information and rumor was reported as fact in the past week.