Conn. judge approves release of some case files in killing of Yale graduate student

Judge approves release of some Yale killing files

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Some documents detailing the case against a former Yale University employee accused of killing a graduate student must be unsealed and made available to the public in three business days, a Connecticut judge ruled Friday.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano said certain sensitive information will remain confidential, and his ruling gave attorneys for Raymond Clark III enough time to appeal if they wish.

Clark, 24, is charged with murder in the death of 24-year-old Annie Le, of Placerville, Calif. She vanished Sept. 8 from the Yale medical school research building where she and Clark worked, and her body was found five days later on what was to be her wedding day.

Clark has not yet entered a plea, and police have not released information about a possible motive.

Wednesday is a state holiday in Connecticut, so it was not immediately clear whether the documents would be released Thursday or earlier in the week.

Joseph Lopez, one of Clark’s public defenders, said Friday that he did not think the defense would appeal the ruling.

Fasano said there are “limited portions” of the arrest and search warrant affidavits that should remain sealed.

He said the information that will be kept confidential includes “material that is inflammatory; material of significant importance that is unfairly prejudicial to the defendant; and material that constitutes an invasion of privacy unnecessary to the public’s understanding of the criminal process.”

The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Hartford Courant and the New Haven Register argued for the release of the files, which have been sealed since Clark’s arrest. Paul Guggina, attorney for the news organizations, said he is considering his options, including whether to appeal or seek clarification of the ruling.

Clark’s lawyers and state prosecutors had opposed the new organizations’ request, saying extensive pretrial publicity about unsubstantiated allegations could make it hard to find a fair jury.

The affidavits lay out the prosecution’s case in filing a murder charge against Clark, and detail what evidence they sought when they searched his Middletown apartment and took DNA samples from him.

Clark is due to return to court Dec. 21.