Body found

Body found inside a wall, presumably Annie Le's remains.

It seems like the perpetrator knew exactly where to hide a body so it wouldn’t be found for a really long time (or the police are really really inept), so a janitor/maintenance person seems like a likely suspect.

Comments

[kevin]

BTW, this is somewhat off topic but it has been reported that Yale University will be rechristening that wall as the "Great Wall of China."

[Melykin]

How do you get a body inside a wall? On the CNN site it said police will "work through the night" to get the body out. Weird. Maybe those bloody clothes they found earlier belonged to the murderer.

The whole thing is creepy.

[Nanonymous]

a janitor/maintenance person seems like a likely suspect.

Janitors work night shifts. Maintenance people who'd be allowed in the lab after 10AM would mean either something urgent or something unusual but scheduled in advance. Both certainly well documented.

I wonder what kind of a lab is it if it is possible to kill a person there and hide a body - all right in the middle of a work day? Like, does anyone even work there?

[Danse Macabre]

I'm going with someone in an administrative role. This crime smacks of premeditation by a person with an IQ that's at least 100, possibly a bit north of that. Your earlier security guard hypothesis might fit as well.

[tommy]

A "Guess the Perp's Race Before They're Arrested" blog might make for a very popular (and very politically incorrect) website. There are tons of local cases across the country in which the criminal's race is unknown or unreported which could serve as fodder for posts.

[The Undiscovered Jew]

In this case, there are only two possible types of killers:

1) Evil genius, Hannibal Lecter style Yale student/professor/researcher.

or

2) NAM janitor with 75ish IQ.

Place your bets, gentlemen!

[biorealist]

While of course it could be the janitor, it's worthwhile to bear in mind a couple of things.

1. Relatively speaking, there are going to be many, many non-janitors for every janitor in that building.

2. If it's a secure facility, there may well be some kind of background check on someone like a janitor. It would actually be some of the professional staff -- especially the professors -- who might be exempt from such vetting, in much the same way that politicians aren't subjected to the same scrutiny as ordinary staff when it comes to confidential material.

[Carcer]

I'm gonna disagree with the janitor hypothesis. This no longer looks like a crime of passion. It exhibits post-facto coolness and planning at the least, and at most a knowledge of her schedule and thorough advance planning.

[Carcer]

In fact, this looks more like a case of unrequited love, possibly by an Asian peer.

I'm not ruling out the janitor option. Killing someone in a heavily videotaped building and hiding the body where the stench will out isn't approved hitman procedure. And basement access argues in favor of a janitor's keyring. But it could also be a fellow grad student who spends a lot of time in the building.

[Rope]

"so a janitor/maintenance person seems like a likely suspect."

You are being unhealthy stubborn about that initial hunch.

[The Blob]

I think murder by a jealous Asian male or her fiance himself is increasingly likely. Someone who knew her schedule hid and waited for her, and the fire alarm was pulled to get people out of the building so the deed could be completed.

I highly doubt a security guard or maintenance person would have done this, in this context. But who knows.

[Wade Nichols]

"BTW, this is somewhat off topic but it has been reported that Yale University will be rechristening that wall as the "Great Wall of China."

Annie Le is Vietnamese, from what I've read, although she could technically be an ethnic Chinese from Vietnam. How does that fit into your "joke"? Vietnam, China, what's the difference, they're all the same, right?

"I think murder by a jealous Asian male or her fiance himself is increasingly likely."

I wonder about the "angry Asian male" hypothesis. If this were true, I would tend to think the perp would also be ethnic Vietnamese. I don't think a Chinese guy would really care so much about a Vietnamese woman. In fact, I would think they would look down upon her.

[kevin]

Wade Nichols,

Yes, I understand that she's Vietnamese. Don't ask me. Direct any and all inquiries about the rechristening to the trustees of Yale University.