Raymond Clark III Sentenced to 44 Years for Annie Le Murder

Raymond Clark III took responsibility for the sexual assault and murder of Yale doctoral student Annie Le in 2009, just before he received a 44-year prison sentence in New Haven Superior Court Friday.

The slain medical researcher’s parents and other close relatives made emotional statements prior to the sentencing, sometimes choking up tearfully before struggling to continue.

Although some members of the victim’s family felt Clark should have received a life sentence, Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano said the sentence would guarantee a conviction and spare both Le’s and Clark’s families the need to relive the crime in a public courtroom.

"This defendant will pay for this crime every day for the rest of his existence," Judge Fasano said.

Clark received a 44-year sentence for murder and a 20-year sentence for attempted sexual assault, both to run concurrently. "Mr. Clark is 26 years old. He will not be released from prison until 2053," said State’s Attorney John Waddock.

Clark worked as a technician taking care of laboratory animals at the Yale Animal Research Center in New Haven where Le did medical research.

On Sept. 8, 2009, Le unaccountably disappeared. After a five-day missing person investigation by city police and the FBI, her body was discovered stuffed in a basement wall cavity on Sept. 13, the day she was to be married.

Police said their investigation almost immediately focused on Clark, because his comings and goings from the secure lab, which were recorded by his key card, appeared suspicious.

After Le’s body was discovered, investigators linked Clark to the crime through DNA analysis of semen stains at the crime scene and a trace of Le’s blood on his card key.

After the sentencing, attorney Joseph Tacopina, who represents the victim’s family, said what was missing from Clark’s statement was an explanation of why he killed Annie Le.

He noted that some members of the Le family wanted a harsher sentence for Clark, but, "It’s the rest of his life in jail for all practical purposes."

Tacopina said the family would pursue other legal remedies to make sure that Yale is held responsible for "lapses in security" that might have allowed Clark to kill Annie Le and hide her body.

Clark entered the courtroom just after noon, wearing a blue dress shirt and dark slacks. He listened impassively while Le’s parents and uncles read statements trying to describe the depth of their loss and grief.

"He took away her life. He took away her future," said Vivian Le, her mother, who said she still sees her daughter in her dreams.

"Because her death was so sudden and unexpected," said the victim’s father, Hoang Le, "we now live in fear, never knowing when another calamity will devastate us again."

Her maternal uncle, Truong Van Bui, said "no earthy judgment" could relieve their grief. "But I do want to stress that Annie’s death was not just a random act of workplace violence. It was a deliberate choice of an evil act against another human being," he said. "Ultimately, Annie’s hopes and dreams were shattered that day when she encountered that evil person. There was no kindness of heart in that choice to end another person’s life and in such a vicious way."

Annie’s younger brother, Ryan, choked up trying to describe his feelings about his sister’s death, how he has often cried himself to sleep and how his grades have suffered. He said no matter how long Clark spends in prison, the pain from the loss of his sister would never go away.

Clark’s father, Raymond Clark Jr., said when his son was born it was one of the happiest days of his life. "Today is one of the saddest days," he added.

He said his son was raised in a "loving and supportive household" and never showed a violent side in his nature. "I don’t stand here today to try and explain or makes excuses for this tragedy," he said. "But this is not the Ray we know and raised; we can’t explain or make sense of this."