Lawyer: Suspect in Annie Le slaying to plead not guilty
Raymond Clark III, right, stands next to Assistant Public Defender Joseph E. Lopez at his arraignment in New Haven (Conn.) Superior Court. Clark is accused of killing Yale University graduate student Annie Le. (Sept. 17, 2009) Credit: Getty / Pool Photo
The Yale lab technician charged in the strangulation of graduate student Annie Le will eventually plead not guilty, his public defender said.
Raymond Clark III, who has been jailed on $3 million bond since he was arrested last month on a murder charge, appeared Tuesday before a judge in New Haven Superior Court, but did not enter a plea, The Associated Press reported.
"Raymond will enter a not guilty plea," Connecticut public defender Joseph Lopez of Bridgeport said earlier Tuesday.
The judge scheduled a probable cause hearing for Oct. 20, in which each side will have the right to introduce evidence and call witnesses, the AP said. Under Connecticut law, defendants accused of murder have the right to the hearing within 60 days of their arrest to decide if the case will go forward.
Records of warrants served against Clark have been sealed because of the police investigation, and the public defender's office wants them to stay sealed beyond the 14-day period initially ordered to avoid influencing potential jurors.
Le's strangled body was found hidden behind the wall of a research lab building on Sept. 13, the day she was to be married on Long Island to a Huntington man.
The disappearance of Le, 24, of Placerville, Calif., from the Ivy League school five days before her Syosset wedding had set off a massive bicoastal search.
Authorities focused on Clark, also 24, because he failed a lie-detector test, his DNA matched crime scene evidence and key card swipe records at the lab showed him to be the last person in the room where Le was found, according to published reports.
An autopsy showed Le died of traumatic asphyxia caused by "neck compression," according to the Connecticut medical examiner.
Authorities have said the case is one of "workplace violence," but have not elaborated on the motive.
Clark cleaned cages, set up experiments and euthanized animals in the lab building where Le did her doctoral research in pharmacology.
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