Jennifer Hromadka, Raymond Clark III's Fiancee, Stands By Him As He Awaits Trial For Annie Le Murder
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The fiancee of a Yale University lab tech continues to faithfully visit him in prison as he awaits trial on charges of murdering a graduate student and stuffing her body behind a wall in a lab building in 2009, records show.
Raymond Clark III, 26, has pleaded not guilty to strangling 24-year-old Annie Le, of Placerville, Calif. Le vanished Sept. 8, 2009, from the Yale medical school research building where she and Clark worked, and her body was found five days later, on what was to be her wedding day.
Clark's fiancee at the time, Jennifer Hromadka, continues to visit him in prison every few days, according to records obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request. Hromadka visited Clark four times in the first half of January and nine times each in December and November, according to prison logs.
She also visited him Sept. 8, the one-year anniversary of the crime. Hromadka's attorney, Robert Berke, said they still are engaged.
"She supports him," Berke said. "I think it shows how strong their relationship is. She stands behind him and is willing to offer him her assistance."
Clark's attorney, Joseph Lopez, confirmed Hromadka visits him quite often, but he declined to comment further. A telephone message was left this week for Hromadka.
Hromadka, who still works at Yale, showed up in June for one of Clark's court appearances with his family. She did not speak, but Clark's father read a statement outside court, calling his son "a loving, caring, kind-hearted son, brother, fiance and friend."
Police have said a green-ink pen under Le's body had her blood and Clark's DNA. Police said Clark signed into the secure building with a green pen the day Le disappeared.
DNA from Le and Clark was on a bloody sock found hidden in a ceiling, authorities say.
Court papers describe a bloody crime scene and Clark's efforts to scrub floors. Investigators say Clark tried to hide a box of cleaning wipes that later was found to have traces of Le's blood.
Clark had a scratch on his face and left arm that he said came from a cat, investigators said.
Clark, a former animal research technician, has been held at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield in lieu of $3 million bail. He is due back in court Feb. 9.
Investigators sought Hromadka's DNA to determine whether she had any involvement in the crime, but she hasn't been charged, and police have said they don't expect to make any more arrests.
Berke has said he had been told Hromadka was not a suspect.
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JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN 02/ 2/11 12:08 PM ET Associated Press