Re: 3/27/01 - WVIT: Reward boosted in Jovin murder
Reward boosted in Jovin murder
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Suzanne Jovin
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Mar. 27 – A plea from police for help in solving one of the state’s most notorious unsolved murder cases. Who killed Suzanne Jovin?
It’s been two and a half years since the Yale senior was found stabbed on a street near campus. Police gathered Tuesday to announce they’re increasing the reward money in the case to $150,000 for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of Jovin’s killer.
Also, police say on the night Jovin was killed, witnesses reported seeing a tan or brown van in the area. Police hope the increased reward will prompt the driver of the van, or other witnesses, to come forward with information.
Jovin’s sister Ellen was on hand for the announcement and pleaded with people to call police with any information, no matter how inconsequential it may seem. “I want to emphasize how important it is to us that we find the person who did this to my sister. The tragedy of her death is compounded by not having a resolution. That someone could kill her with impunity makes it that much harder,” she said.
Police Chief Melvin Wearing said the driver of the van is sought as a witness to the killing on Dec. 4, 1998. Police believe the 21-year-old Jovin got a ride on the Yale campus from someone she knew. They believe she was left, with 17 stab wounds, in the residential East Rock neighborhood about two miles from where she was last seen on campus.
Jovin, a political science major from Goettingen, Germany, could not have walked that distance in the time between when she was last seen and when her body was found. Police doubt Jovin would have accepted a ride from someone she did not know, and they doubt she could have been abducted without anyone witnessing the crime.
State’s Attorney Michael Dearington also said he believes other witnesses have not come forward since Jovin’s body was found. Police also have a hotline for confidential tips about the investigation or about other crimes. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-866-888-TIPS.
As far as the reward goes, Yale University put up the $100,000 to add to the $50,000 the state is offering. “We are contributing the additional reward because our ongoing discussions with the authorities led to the consensus that it could be helpful,” said Yale spokesman Tom Conroy.
Police have yet to make an arrest. Chief Wearing says they do have a few suspects. They say they’ve been stymied by a lack of physical evidence. No murder weapon has been found.
Neighborhood witnesses reported hearing screams and a man and a woman arguing shortly before Jovin was discovered. New detectives are on the case, following retirements and a scandal at the New Haven Police. Brian Sullivan, who was the lead detective on the Jovin case, faces criminal charges that he mishandled the investigation into the murder of a North Haven man.
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