Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Conn. state official adds no more details in probe of the death of Yale grad student.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Police have identified a “person of interest” in the killing of a Yale University graduate student whose body was hidden for days in a wall in a university research building, a Connecticut state official said Tuesday.
The official has firsthand knowledge of the police investigation into the death of Annie Le, 24, but would not elaborate on what was meant by “person of interest.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
A spokesman for New Haven police, who have been extraordinarily tight-lipped during the investigation, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Police said earlier Tuesday that they had questioned 150 people in connection with the death of Le, who vanished Sept. 8 from a Yale research building. Her body was found Sunday, on what would have been her wedding day, stuffed behind a wall in a basement laboratory. They said they did not expect to make an arrest Tuesday.
State prosecutors also blocked the release of autopsy results in Le’s death on Tuesday. The chief state medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide Monday but have yet to say the manner in which Le died.
State’s Attorney Michael Dearington did not return a call seeking comment on why his office requested that the autopsy results be delayed.
Authorities were keeping watch on some of Le’s co-workers and have descended in large numbers this week on the home of a Yale animal research technician who lives in the Wharfside Commons apartment complex in Middletown.
An official parked outside the complex, about 20 miles away near Hartford, wouldn’t confirm whether police were there to investigate the Le killing, but public records show the technician lives in a first-floor apartment. A man answering the door Tuesday said the technician wasn’t at home and closed the door.
Neighbors said authorities in unmarked cars arrived Monday afternoon and frequently follow and pull over drivers in the complex. New Haven police would not comment on the efforts there.