Re: 3/22/00 - Official: Yale statements on Jovin were available to ABC
Wed, Mar 22, 2000
Official: Yale statements on Jovin were available to ABC
By Randall Beach, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN ? A war of words continued Tuesday between Yale's high officials and ABC News over its "20/20" program on the murder of Yale student Suzanne Jovin.
University Vice President and Secretary Linda Koch Lorimer issued a statement responding to criticism from some members of the Yale community who thought Yale officials should have been more accessible to ABC.
Yale's critics also said the officials were "insensitive" by saying Yale wants to "put the Jovin murder behind us" and "move on."
Jovin, 21, was stabbed repeatedly and left dying at the corner of East Rock and Edgehill roads on Dec. 4, 1998. Her murder remains unsolved.
Lorimer said, "ABC had available the public record of the series of official statements made by senior administrators of Yale, the televised Elm-Ivy Award ceremony last spring in which President (Richard) Levin honored Suzanne's memory and a Yale Bulletin and Calendar tribute to her.
"We had thought that ABC would draw from that record, as other news organizations have done in the past," Lorimer added.
Yale spokesman Tom Conroy, the lone official quoted on "20/20," said Tuesday he had repeated discussions with ABC representatives to point out the available material.
"They had an understanding there was a record," Conroy said.
"There was even video footage available of some of this."
Conroy added, "We always require that inquiries of criminal investigations be referred to police. Anybody else speaking to this would only be speculating."
However, a source at ABC said their questions of Yale officials were not confined to criminal matters. The source said Conroy did not point ABC in the direction of specific material.
"We had uncovered new information and that's what we offered them a chance to talk about," the source said.
In a press release issued in response to Lorimer's statement, ABC said the "20/20" investigation "gathered new information in the Jovin case, including statements by James Van de Velde, the Jovin family and other sources, and we were surprised when Yale University declined over a dozen requests from us to make a university administrator available for an interview, either on camera or on background."
"The only official statement offered to us was Yale University spokesman Tom Conroy's comments, which he repeatedly confirmed to us as being Yale's current official position on the matter, and which we accurately presented in our report," ABC added.
ABC considered statements by Van de Velde important because the former Yale lecturer is the only person named by police as a suspect in the case. He has maintained he is innocent.
Lorimer began her statement by saying the Yale community "will never forget Suzanne Jovin and the impact her life had on so many at Yale and in our city. While we continue to await justice in this case, we are working to continue to support those activities that were important to Suzanne and to perpetuate her memory in our community."
Lorimer added, "Since the day she lost her life, our heartfelt position has been and remains the same: that Suzanne's murder was a senseless and tragic crime; that the university is committed to efforts to memorialize the life and accomplishments of this remarkable young woman; and that Yale, like her family and friends, awaits justice and the solving of this crime."
Lorimer said, "The important issue now is that all of us continue to do what we can to honor Suzanne's memory and to keep pressing for justice. The university's position today is exactly what it has always been: Suzanne Jovin's death is a terrible tragedy and a great loss for her family, for all others who knew her, and for our community in general."
"We at Yale will continue to work to memorialize the gifts of her life even as we fervently hope for justice to be served," Lorimer ended.
Yale political science professor David Cameron, who called Yale officials "insensitive" for their comments to "20/20," said Tuesday, "It is a very sensitive statement, and I'm glad Linda Lorimer issued it. I only regret it was not presented as the university's position in the conversations that occurred with '20/20.'"
¸ 2000, CT CENTRAL
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