Re: 3/27/01 - AP/WFSB: Reward Increased: $150,000 for Information in Jovin Murder
Reward Increased: $150,000 for Information in Jovin Murder
NEW HAVEN (AP) -- On the night the body of Yale student Suzanne Jovin was found in an upscale city neighborhood, witnesses reported seeing a tan or brown van in the area.
Hoping the driver of that van -- or other witnesses -- will come forward with information, New Haven police Tuesday announced an increased reward of $150,000 for tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of Jovin's killer.
Jovin's sister, Ellen Jovin, 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 that Jovin, 21, 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 set up a hotline for confidential tips about the investigation or about other crimes.
Yale University put up the $100,000 to increase the reward, in addition to the $50,000 the state is offering.
No one has been arrested.
Wearing said police have ``a few'' suspects, including former Yale lecturer James Van de Velde, who was Jovin's senior thesis adviser.
Van de Velde, 40, maintains his innocence. He has accused Yale and the New Haven police of making him a scapegoat because of their inability to solve the crime.
David Grudberg, Van de Velde's lawyer, said investigators should publicly admit they were wrong to name Van de Velde as a suspect.
``They singled him out as a suspect, and they should step up to the plate and admit they were wrong,'' Grudberg said.
Wearing said investigators are unable to eliminate Van de Velde as a suspect, but he would not discuss details.
``There are extenuating circumstances that make him a suspect in this case,'' Wearing said.
Police have 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.
The New Haven police tip hotline is 1-866-888-TIPS.
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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