Episode 47: The Murder of Annie Le
Surveillance footage of Annie entering the research lab
Happy and excited, 24-year-old PhD candidate Annie Le was just a few days away from her wedding to the love of her life. She was also thriving at Yale, conducting research for treatments for diabetes and cancer. Everything seemed to be going really well for Annie, and nothing was standing in the way of her success and happiness.
On September 8th, 2009, Annie swiped her keycard and entered the Animal Research Lab of Yale in an attempt to get some work done. Video surveillance shows Annie walking into the building, but it never captures her walking out.
The keycard that Annie used showed her entering a research lab at around 10am. Not too long after that, a lab technician named Raymond Clark III swiped his keycard, and joined Annie, who was previously alone, in the lab. Between 10:45am and 3:45pm, Raymond can be seen on video surveillance walking out of the lab and into another room down the hall 55 times.
When Annie did not come home that night, one of her five roommates called the police and reported her missing; it was not like Annie to be late and not give a heads up. The police immediately started their investigation by following her schedule, and eventually landed on the surveillance footage that showed Annie entering the building, and never leaving. The investigation quickly focused on Raymond, and the lab was searched meticulously for evidence.
Unfortunately, on September 13th, 2009, the day Annie was supposed to get married, her decomposing body was found in the wall of a basement locker room in the very building she was last seen in. She had been strangled, and had injuries such as a broken jaw and collarbone. It was obvious she had been sexually assaulted.
Due to a comparison of DNA found in Annie’s underwear, the police were able to match it to Raymond, and he was immediately arrested. In March of 2011, he pled guilty to the murder of Annie Le and was sentenced to 44 years in prison.
Image sources:
psychologytoday.com - “The Mysterious Murder of Annie Le”
yalealumnimagazine.com - “The death of Annie Le”