Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Murder Mystery: Who Killed Yale Student Suzanne Jovin? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Janice Shell who wrote (414)	2/15/2000 10:39:00 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 1397

Re: Van de Velde passes lie test; Wearing wants more proof Tue, Feb 15, 2000 Van de Velde passes lie test; Wearing wants more proof By Alaine Griffin, Deputy City Editor NEW HAVEN ? The only suspect named publicly by authorities in the December 1998 slaying of Yale University student Suzanne Jovin has passed a polygraph test that backs his claims of innocence, a source said Monday. Word that James Van de Velde, a former Yale lecturer and Jovin's thesis adviser, passed the lie detector test comes less than two weeks after Jovin's parents, Thomas and Donna Jovin, challenged Van de Velde to take such a test. A source close to the case, who spoke to the Register only on the condition of anonymity, said the polygraph test was "arranged through (Van de Velde's) defense team" and was administered "within the past six months" by a retired FBI agent with 30 years of experience in law enforcement. The former agent, Frank A. Connelly, lives in California, sources said. Efforts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful. "The person (Van de Velde) passed it with . . . has an extensive law enforcement background," the source said. But Police Chief Melvin H. Wearing said he wants Van de Velde to take a polygraph administered here with his detectives present. "It has to be in an environment with people who know what questions to ask," Wearing said. "We would want him to take a polygraph with police detectives who were assigned to the case. We have a series of questions we need answered." Wearing said authorities with the Connecticut State Police conduct polygraphs for the city's police department. Van de Velde took the test administered by Connelly "within the past six months," the source said. Van de Velde also passed a second polygraph, the source said, that questioned Van de Velde about "miscellaneous" items related to the case. It is unclear exactly how many polygraphs Van de Velde has taken. Van de Velde's attorney, David Grudberg, declined Monday to talk about the case. Jovin, a senior majoring in political science, was killed Dec. 4, 1998, after she was stabbed 17 times in the back and neck. Her body was found in the upscale East Rock neighborhood not far from campus. No arrests have been made in connection with the slaying. Police named Van de Velde publicly in a "pool of suspects" when Yale canceled Van de Velde's spring 1999 classes and declined to renew his one-year appointment, saying his presence in the classroom would be a "distraction" to students. In a letter e-mailed earlier this month to the Register from their home in Germany, the Jovins urged Van de Velde to take a polygraph. And in December, Wearing also stated he wished Van de Velde would take a lie detector test given by local authorities. When asked Monday whether passing a lie detector test given by local police would eliminate Van de Velde from the "pool of suspects," Wearing replied: "The case is not based on one component of investigation. There are several aspects that reveal a person is a suspect in the case. The polygraph is just one area that can lend some clarity to some unanswered questions. It is just a tool that law enforcement uses to ascertain the truth." The Jovins could not immediately be reached late Monday for comment. Grudberg, however, has said police had their chance to do their own polygraph when his client offered to submit to one when detectives first interrogated him within a week of the murder. Grudberg said police consistently have shown bad faith in the investigation and have unfairly targeted Van de Velde. Grudberg said he would not trust them to administer a fair test. Register reporter William Kaempffer contributed to this story. ctcentral.com