When Yale University graduate student Annie Le went missing on last Tuesday, investigators started searching for clues. In the end, it was surveillance video that helped them locate her body five days later.
While surveillance cameras on college campuses are becoming more and more common, few universities have such blanketed coverage. Yale University was ahead of the curve, and 75 cameras were rolling on campus the day Le went missing. One camera outside of the building where she worked captured her going in and never coming out. With this in mind, authorities concentrated their search within the building, and on Sunday discovered her body stuffed in a wall.
Without the video authorities wouldn’t have conducted such a concentrated search for the 24-year-old, and the discovery of her body most likely would have been delayed. Any delay in such a situation can greatly reduce the amount of physical evidence that may help identify the perpetrator, and lesson the likelihood of a conviction.
The high-tech lab was also equipped with swipe-card technology, though this only controlled access in, and wouldn’t necessarily log a person out – especially with the common ‘tailgating’ technique, where one individual recognizes another and grants them access without having them swipe their own card. In this case, video was the only way to know for sure.
Authorities have yet to officially name any suspects, but are saying that evidence suggests it was an isolated incident. According to Foxnews, two Conneticut media outlets are reporting that a lab worker is a prime suspect (though not currently in custody), who reportedly had defensive wounds on his chest, failed an FBI polygraph, and requested a lawyer.
Mon, Sep 14, 2009
Video Surveillance