Re: The Jovin and Zantop Murder Investigations: One Comparison
Suzanne Jovin was killed on December 4th, 1998. Five days later, the New Haven Register blared the headline: "YALE TEACHER GRILLED IN KILLING".
Susanne and Half Zantop were killed on January 27th, 2001. Four days later, The Dartmouth student newspaper's lead story was "STUDENT IS POTENTIAL SUSPECT".
James Van de Velde, the as of then unidentified Yale teacher, was questioned by police for an hour three days after the murder, then for four hours the next night.
The Dartmouth student, whose name was kept confidential, was questioned by police for an hour two days after the murder, then for four hours the next night as well.
Both Van de Velde and the Dartmouth student believe they were "prime suspects" because they were one of the last people to see the murder victims alive.
Eventually DNA evidence (not properly tested until more than two years after the crime) exonerated Van de Velde. The Dartmouth student was quickly ruled out and the real killers have been caught and convicted.
So why did Van de Velde have his life destroyed and reputation ruined whereas the Dartmouth student apparently suffered no ill effects whatsoever?
The answer, in my opinion, lies in the comparison of the leadership of both local police departments. I say "leadership" because both Van de Velde and the Dartmouth student both called their interrogations extremely unprofessional. For example, here is a snippet from the relevant The Darmouth article:
He said the police attempted to use "entrapment techniques" by saying that they had reason to believe he was at the Zantop home the day of the murders.
The student said adamantly that he had never been to the Zantop home and did not know where they lived until he read The Dartmouth's email message. He said the police never presented him with any evidence that would lead to the belief that he was ever at the Zantop home.
"First you ask questions. You don't start by making assumptions."
"They asked me if I had a vehicle, and I said, 'I don't even have a driver's license.'"
The student said the police asked him "questions that had nothing to do with the case," such as whether he had a girlfriend. The police also asked if he practiced "Santería," a religion that involves ritual sacrifice.
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I'm not in a position to evaluate what is and is not proper *internal* police interrogation. I suppose if you can entice someone into a true confession simply by pretending like you have the goods on them then why not. However, unlike the local police in the Zantop case, the New Haven police decided they were clairvoyant-- that despite no motive or evidence Van de Velde had anything to do with the murder that he just had to be their guy. Had they kept this thought to themselves, the only negative ramification would have been that the trail would have simply grown colder each day they refused to consider alternate scenarios.
Instead, the NHPD decided to manipulate Yale, the local media, and most despicably, the Jovin family, in a desperate attempt to appear like it was only a matter of time before they had enough to arrest Van de Velde. In doing so, they withheld key information from the public that, in my opinion, may have led to the case being solved very early on.
I'm frankly shocked that the Mayor of New Haven and the President of Yale have remained steadfastly silent on this horrendous and obvious example of police incompetence at the top. With the solving of the Zantop murders, the question of "could this have been handled differently" is no longer academic. Sadly, apparently each has chosen to sit back and let the courts decide their legacy.
- Jeff |
