Attorney Kenneth Wine, representing Wyndham Lathem, speaks to reporters outside of the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., on Aug. 7, 2017.Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press
After a cross-country manhunt, a former Northwestern University professor and University of Oxford employee are beginning court proceedings for the brutal stabbing death of a 26-year-old hair stylist in Chicago. The case has involved peculiar twists, including a cash donation in the victim's name at a Wisconsin library and a videotaped confession sent to friends. The two men surrendered peacefully in California after eight days as fugitives and one appeared in court on Monday.
Northwestern microbiologist Wyndham Lathem and Oxford financial officer Andrew Warren were wanted on first-degree murder charges for the death of Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau. A lawyer for Prof. Lathem intends to plead not guilty.
Here's a closer look at the case.
The crime
The body of 26-year-old Mr. Cornell-Duranleau was found stabbed to death inside an apartment belonging to Prof. Lathem in an upscale neighbourhood near downtown Chicago. The July 27 attack was so violent the blade of the knife believed to have been used in the stabbing was broken, police said.
Authorities said the building's front desk received an anonymous call that a crime had been committed in the 10th-floor apartment. When police opened the door, they found Mr. Cornell-Duranleau's body. He had already been dead for at least 12 hours.
Police said the victim and Prof. Lathem had a personal relationship, but they have not elaborated or released a motive.
The professor
Authorities' primary target in the investigation has been Prof. Lathem, who had been on Northwestern's faculty since 2007. The 42-year-old was an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, although university officials say he primarily worked in a research lab. Published in top scientific journals, he was a sought-after speaker on pneumonic and bubonic plagues.
Over the years, he taught medical students or graduate students, although he was not teaching at the time of the crime, said officials with Northwestern, which has campuses in Chicago and suburban Evanston.
Investigators said Prof. Lathem sent a video to friends and relatives apologizing for his involvement in the crime, which he called the "biggest mistake of my life." The video raised concern among investigators that Prof. Lathem might kill himself.
Prof. Lathem, who was under intensive observation over the weekend in jail, appeared in court on Monday, the same day university officials announced his firing. Northwestern officials said Prof. Lathem was terminated, effective on Friday, "for the act of fleeing from police when there was an arrest warrant out for him."
The visitor
Less is known about Mr. Warren, who is British. Mr. Warren and Prof. Lathem were seen in surveillance video leaving Prof. Lathem's high-rise apartment building the day of the stabbing, but it is unclear what Mr. Warren's relationship was to the other two men.
He is in charge of pensions and payroll at the University of Oxford's Somerville College. Chicago police have said he is 56 years old, while California authorities booked him into jail at 49 years old.
Mr. Warren arrived in the United States three days before Mr. Cornell-Duranleau's death and after being reported missing in Britain, Chicago police confirmed. He doesn't have an initial court appearance scheduled yet and is being held at the county jail in San Francisco.
The victim
Mr. Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native who received a cosmetology licence, moved to Chicago last year. He lived in a neighbourhood just southwest of downtown.
Family members issued a statement asking for time to grieve before commenting further, saying they are "deeply saddened" by the loss. "It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for the death are brought to justice," the statement read.
A funeral will be held Aug. 12 in Lennon, Mich.
On the run
The day the crime was committed, police say Prof. Lathem and Mr. Warren drove about 128 kilometres northwest of Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wis., where one made a $1,000 cash donation to the local library in Mr. Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation did not give his name.
The two eluded police for eight days before their separate surrenders Friday evening in the Bay Area. Prof. Lathem turned himself in at the Oakland federal building roughly the same time Mr. Warren turned himself in to police in San Francisco, authorities said. A U.S. Marshals spokesman said surrender negotiations through a lawyer began late on Friday afternoon.
Looking ahead
Wearing a red inmate uniform, Prof. Lathem briefly appeared in court on Monday. He's being held without bail in Alameda County.
A lawyer painted a different picture of him, calling him a "gentle soul" and saying he's received dozens of calls and letters in support. "They all describe him in the same way – a kind, intelligent, and gentle soul, and a loyal and trusted friend," Kenneth Wine, the lawyer, said in a statement. "What he is accused of is totally contrary to the way he has lived his entire life."
Prof. Lathem plans to waive his right to an extradition hearing and expects to be returned to Chicago within weeks, according to a lawyer.