Official: Police Closing In On Northwestern-Oxford Duo

Wyndham Lathem
This undated photo released by the Chicago Police Department shows Wyndham Lathem, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University. An arrest warrant was issued Monday, July 31, 2017, for Lathem and another man in connection to the stabbing death of a Chicago man on July 27. Chicago Police Department via Associated Press
Wyndham Lathem
This undated photo released by the Chicago Police Department shows Wyndham Lathem, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University. An arrest warrant was issued Monday, July 31, 2017, for Lathem and another man in connection to the stabbing death of a Chicago man on July 27. Chicago Police Department via Associated Press

Official: Police Closing In On Northwestern-Oxford Duo

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Updated 2:26 p.m.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Northwestern University professor wanted in the fatal stabbing at his downtown condo sent a video apology to friends and family, according to a spokesman with the Chicago Police Department. 

In the video, Wyndham Lathem apologizes for “his involvement in the murder” of 26-year-old Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau, according to a statement from police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

“The contents of the video message are integral to any future interrogation efforts; therefore, we can not disclose the video at this time,” Guglielmi said in the statement. 

Lathem, a respected microbiologist at Northwestern, and Andrew Warren, who was visiting Chicago from England, are wanted on first-degree murder charges in the killing of Cornell-Duranleau, whose body was found in Lathem’s Chicago apartment on the night of July 27.

News of the videotaped message comes after investigators said they believe Lathem and Warren drove to Wisconsin after the slaying and made a $1,000 donation in the dead man’s name to a library there.

Chicago police spokesman Frank Giancamilli says it’s unclear why Lathem and Warren made the donation. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, police Lt. Ed Grittzner says a person handed a library worker $1,000 in cash. Police said the donation was made before the body was found. 

Investigators think they’re closing in on Lathem and Warren, a police official said Thursday.

Guglielmi said the hunt for the duo has “intensified and narrowed” and that investigators think they know where the men are or are heading. He urged them to surrender.

Cornell-Duranleau’s mother, Charlotte Cornell, told The Associated Press by phone from Michigan, where her son grew up, that the family doesn’t know the suspects. She declined to say whether she or other family members had ever heard of them before her son was killed because they “are at large and there’s an ongoing investigation.”

Cornell also issued the following statement to the AP: “Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son. It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice. We are asking that you allow our family to process and grieve this tragedy privately. We are asking all media outlets to not contact our family, friends or associates. When we have had sufficient time to mourn our child’s passing, we will release a more in depth statement if we believe it is appropriate to do so.”

Giancamilli characterized the June 27 attack at Lathem’s apartment as “domestic in nature,” but authorities would not discuss the possible motive in further detail. The attack was so violent that the blade of the knife believed to have been used to kill Cornell-Duranleau was broken, Guglielmi said.

Investigators are trying to determine how the men knew one another. They wouldn’t say if they believe Warren and Lathem knew each other before Warren traveled to Chicago from England. Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau did cross paths, at least electronically: They are Facebook friends.

Lathem has been a much sought-after speaker on pneumonic and bubonic plague and has been published in top scientific journals.

“He’s been very competitive in terms of getting NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding for his work … and is respected for high quality research,’ said Bill Goldman, a professor and chair of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Goldman has known Lathem since Lathem worked in his laboratory at Washington University before Lathem left for Northwestern in 2007.

Warren, who is British, is in charge of pensions and payroll at the University of Oxford’s Somerville College, though his name and photograph have been removed from the school’s online directory.

Cornell-Duranleau moved to Chicago from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area after he received his cosmetology license and worked as a hair stylist. It is unclear from his Facebook page where he was working at the time of his death.

Timber Baun-Crooks, the mayor pro-tem of Trenton, Michigan, who gave Cornell-Duranleau a job at a hair salon four years ago, described him as a “great kid.” But she said, “he wanted to be something so bad, though I don’t know what that was or if he ever found his niche in life.”