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High-Profile Murders Haunt Yale
Race and class issues feature heavily in killings from past
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Sep 15, 09 5:01 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Graduate student Annie Le's murder is just the latest in a series of high-profile killings to rock Yale University in recent history, reports Gawker, which dubs the university "Murdertown of the Ivies." The Yale killings too often feature a troubling mix of race, class, and bungling by authorities, Gawker notes. Among the notorious cases:
- Suzanne Jovin. Jovin, a 21-year-old from Germany, was found dead on a street near the campus in 1998, with her throat slit and 17 stab wounds. Her thesis adviser was identified as a suspect but never charged, and her killing remains unsolved.
- Bonnie Garland was killed with a hammer by her boyfriend and fellow student Richard Herrin in 1977. Yale's Catholic community rallied around Herrin, a Mexican American from a poor background, helping raise funds for a high-priced lawyer. Herrin was convicted of manslaughter.
- Christian Prince was a fourth-generation Yalie from a wealthy family who was allegedly killed by a 17-year-old African American looking for money to attend a rap concert. Prince was found shot dead on the steps of St. Mary's Church. The man charged with his murder was found guilty of armed robbery but acquitted of murder after two racially charged trials.