Re: 12/3/2012 -- Hartford Courant: Parents Of Slain Yale Student Still Hold Hope Killer Will Be Found
Parents Of Slain Yale Student Still Hold Hope Killer Will Be Found
By DAVE ALTIMARI, daltimar@courant.com The Hartford Courant
3:51 p.m. EST, December 3, 2012
Suzanne Jovin, 21, from Goettingen, Germany, was a Yale senior studying political science, who coordinated a volunteer program training students to act as companions for adults with mental retardation. She also tutored elementary students in New Haven.
Jovin was found dead about 10 p.m. on Dec. 4, 1998, the victim of multiple stab wounds to the back. Her body was found at the intersection of East Rock Road and Edgehill Avenue, an affluent neighborhood near the Yale University campus where many students and professors live.
The Jovin case attracted international attention, in large part because a Yale lecturer was initially identified as a suspect. DNA evidence later cleared him of wrongdoing. Jovin's case remains unsolved. (COURANT FILE PHOTO / December 4, 1998)
-----
Thomas and Donna Jovin say they have not given up on the possibility that their daughter Suzanne's killer will be found, 14 years after the Yale student was stabbed to death.
"We continue to hope that the case will be solved, even after the passage of 14 years," the Jovins said in a statement to the Courant.
Suzanne Jovin was found with 17 stab wounds in a quiet New Haven neighborhood near the Yale campus on Dec. 4 1998.
A team of retired state police detectives took over the probe four years ago. The investigation has since been given to a deputy chief state's attorney.
The team, led by current East Haven Deputy Police Chief John Mannion, had established a dedicated tip line that generated some leads. In one, a woman driving near the New Haven neighborhood where Jovin's body was found told investigators she spotted a man running from the area. The team circulated a sketch but the lead did not pan out.
Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane said Monday the detectives are still on the case and that the team of retired investigators is still "volunteering their time and have been following leads."
"We are actively investigating the case,'' Kane said.
In a statement to The Courant, the Jovins said the probe is now being run by Deputy Chief State's Attorney John Russotto.
They said that when they visited Connecticut around this time last year, they met with Kane, Russotto and New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington.
"For several hours, we reviewed the past and present state of the investigation. We came away from this meeting convinced and appreciative of the commitment and dedication of all members of the investigative teams, previous and present, working on the case,'' Thomas and Donna Jovin wrote.
"We have since had briefings and conversations with John Russotto to keep abreast of any new developments," they wrote.
The Jovins encouraged anyone who may have information to call 203-676-1575 , the hotline set up in 2007. The four detectives still meet informally but have no authority to travel or conduct interviews without the presence of a state investigator.
"Every so often we get new information and that is always followed up on immediately,'' Kane said.
"We also have looked at the forensic evidence very closely and will do so again as technology evolves."
Jovin was discovered at the corner of Edgehill Avenue and East Rock Road in New Haven bleeding badly from 17 stab wounds to the head, neck and back. The attack was so brutal that a small piece of a knife, less than a quarter inch, broke off in her skull.
Jovin was last seen walking near Phelps Gate on the Yale campus, about a half hour before her body was found around 9:48 p.m.
At least one witness told police they heard a man and woman arguing shortly before Jovin's body was discovered. There also were people who heard a woman screaming, but there were no witnesses to the murder.
For years, investigators hoped that DNA evidence found under a fingernail on Jovin's left hand would eventually lead to the killer. But their hopes were dashed two years ago when it was determined the DNA belonged to a state police forensic laboratory technician who originally handled the evidence.
ctnow.com |
