Yale Daily News

"On Jan. 10, 1999, then-Dean of Yale College Richard Brodhead called Van de Velde into his office, telling him that his spring term courses would be canceled and that he could not advise any senior essays or directed readings, Van de Velde says."

Shades of the false accusations--and the railroading by Brodhead--against the Duke lacrosse players. (As well as his unfounded accusations regarding certain Melville scholars). The man is a walking disaster, always on the wrong end of any action-oriented decision.

The al-Qaida connection is fascinating; did Brodhead's actions somehow aid 9/11?

While that connections seems bizarre and far-fetched, is it any more far-fetched than driving airliners into the Twin Towers?

How did Brodhead get the Duke job after what he did to Van de Velde?

Well-researched investigative piece, though I think that gradually through the piece, especially when his biography is quickly presented, Van de Velde is slowly made to become another victim in all this. There should be a reason why he was the only one truly pointed out as a suspect nine years ago. The article becomes a little bit too sympathetic to the man, in my opinion.

This article brings back troubling memories for me. I was at Yale at the time Jovin was murdered and it seemed to me at the time that the entire case, from the early, baseless accusation of van de velde, to the fact the NHPD did not bring in top-rate crime scene investigators, was mismanaged. I remember hearing about investigators analyzing her emails, phone calls logs etc. and I don't ever recall any information being publicized about the results. Maybe it was because nothing substantial came of it. Maybe taking another look at it will give this investigation the kick in the pants it needs to get solved.

What was this bit about 9/11? Are you guys really serious? Bin Laden wasn't exactly unknown in the late 90s--this was after the African embassy bombings, recall. The idea that al-Qaeda targeted Jovin, or that Jovin's paper could have helped us avert 9/11, would be funny if the circumstances weren't so sad. Where is the reporter's judgement on this one?

Van de Velde's name was actually released to the New Haven Register prior to the completion of his four-hour voluntary interrogation by the NHPD. Presumably they had convinced themselves he must have been having some illicit relationship with Suzanne. But as this was even before the NHPD had talked to Jovin and Van de Velde’s friends, family, and co-workers –only to be told this conclusion was utter nonsense – it brings into question if perhaps they just needed to name someone, anyone, to calm fears that this might have been a townie related killing that would hurt Yale’s recruiting. Rather than admit they screwed up, the NHPD then sought to manufacture a new (even more ridiculous) motive-- that Jovin was out to ruin Van de Velde’s career at Yale and therefore needed to be silenced. If you read the New Haven Register articles about the crime during the early investigation, you’ll see that the NHPD did everything in its power to make Van de Velde fit the crime. Shameless and actionable, IMO.

On the other hand, perhaps Yale reacted to the possibly intentional cover up and dismissal of prior complaints received from female students against male professors by co-scapegoating a non-tenured suspect of a crime already reported in the Register. Probing this type of record might be useful to the defense of an accused.

There are times when reading an article when one becomes lost, and for a moment, the newspaper becomes a world of its own. Is this because of the editor? the photographers? the layout designer? Some would say yes, but I must stand by a firm no, it is in fact, articles like this. I do not know who you are Rachel Boyd, but rarely has such a well researched, and well exectued piece passed through my hands in the YDN.

An emphatic congratulations

excellent article! i wish the results of the investigation were made more transparent by the police. i don't think there can be much harm after 9 yrs -- you will hardly spook the non-existent suspects -- and people who may know something would be prompted to volunteer relevant information.

If someone wanted to "pin" a crime on someone, it wouldn't be Van de Velde - it would be one of the Best Buddies. I still want to know the Jovin's family's view of his possible complicity. The one time I spoke with him I found him volatile. It may be that he was a good suspect for a reason.

No one can be happy with the investigation of this matter. Perhaps the new team, starting fresh, will find new leads. But after nine years without a solution, maybe Yale should fund a private investigation, working cooperatively with the cold case volunteers put together by the state. It is strongly in Yale's interest to ensure that no possible lead is left unexamined (again).

Who bombed the Law School?

Osama bin Laden. Or maybe the CIA.

Great, great article. I find it so frustrating how poorly handled this case has clearly been from the beginning. The list of forensic tests Van de Velve wants to be conducted seem so striaghtforward and obvious it's so disconcerting that they weren't done immediately.

and how ridiculous is it that the new task force is four retired officers who will "try to meet once a week"!?

also surprising that none of the Best Buddies have ever been investigated--seems like one of the first places you'd want to look.

Yale did privately fund their own investigation-- in 2000! See: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/22749

They reportedly had cleared Van de Velde and labeled the investigation a sham way back then. Yale has never saw fit to release the results. Why? Has anyone from the YDN ever thought to ask about it? If so, what were they told?

An important piece of this Murder/Mystery

is :Why was she going over to Van Der Velde's home that Friday night ? was it nervousness on her part in regards to this Thesis that she turned in.

Did she know he (JVDW)was leaving town and rushed over there and even accepted a ride from a strager/friend/acquanti)?

would she have been miffed if she missed him ? Nothing justifies assault/murder of course

Out of Line and unusual meddling by Yale perhaps .Were these statements and orders coming from this Mr.Brodhead ? was someone bullying this case ?

Probably has all been mentioned before.

This Mr.Brodhead was a superior to JVDW ?

Is everyone worried about losing their job ?

Has anyone ever seen a boss put in place with a nod and a wink ? and you have to put up or shut up.

Did finger pointing and blame placing go into action after this murder or was there an issue going on at this University before the crime ?

Changing of president's ,changing Administration,Patronage,Politics.

Or is that always the case ?

It’s quite easy to make up scenarios how this or that person or group could have killed Suzanne Jovin. However, unlike a murder mystery novel where one becomes trained to focus on the various characters and how and why they might have done it, in real life where crimes are often random one needs to focus first and foremost on the evidence.

Jovin’s route that night, starting from her apartment on Park St and cutting across campuses to Phelp’s Gate then back via College and Elm (against traffic), makes it quite unlikely she was trailed by a car. The timeline, distance, her clothing, what she said to friends, etc. means a vehicle was most likely used to transport her to where she was found, so being followed on foot makes little sense. The witness who saw her on the Old Campus said she wasn’t holding a Fresca, which means she most likely bought one at Krauszers on York (formerly WaWa). The only place for a car to be introduced here would be in front of the store or, more likely, on the secluded stretch of Elm between York and Park past the boarded up Daily Café.

To establish a “she knew her killer” scenario would require, after just telling people how very tired she was and looking forward to being home to rest, in the one-block area between Krauszers and her apartment: a) she ran into someone she knew well enough to get into their car, b) she had a compelling reason to get into their car, c) whatever conversation that took place got heated enough in a matter of minutes to lead to a vicious murder, *and* d) this unscheduled encounter involved someone who just happened to have a knife on them. Possible? Most anything’s possible. Probable. No.

The Fresca bottle was found in the bushes in front of where her body was. In addition to her fingerprints was a foreign palm print. People who flee from a car driven by an attacker usually don’t take their soda bottles with them. People who are run down outside and stabbed 17 times would likely scream loudly and consistently for help, put up a fight, and leave a trail of a massive amount of blood. There is no evidence any of the above happened, let alone all of it. The most likely scenario is Jovin was killed in the tan van seen at the time and place she was found and then dumped, along with the soda bottle and a copy of the Yale New Journal (a potentially significant but never before reported piece of evidence).

Hopefully the more people review the actual evidence the more likely they are to start remembering whether they saw Jovin in the vicinity of Krauszers that night or a mysterious tan van anywhere. Heck, anything suspicious at all the night of December 4, 1998. [submitted by Jeff Mitchell; jmitchel@optonline.net]

As a regular reader of the YDN, I must say this is one of the best-written and researched pieces the paper has printed. Congratulations, Rachel -- definitely send this clip to potential employers when the time comes.

This is the best piece of journalism I have come across in the past 10 years of reading the YDN, and just about every other major college newspaper for that matter.

excuse me, but this article doesn't offer any new information on the Jovin case (aside from encouraging a hack conspiracy theory about al qaeda killing a college student). A fine article, no doubt. But not "the best piece of journalism."

Both Yale and the NHPD have an interest in seeing a STRONG Yale, Yale for obvious reasons, NHPD (Read: NH Gov.) for reasons that have to do with employment and social stability. Neither Yale nor NH would wish for Yale to lose applicates who think that New Haven is not a safe enough place to attend school. Such a perception could grow if Yale students are randomly killed in the streets of NH, which is more than likely what happened to Jovin.

It was/(is?) in the best interest of Yale and NH to place blame, quickly, on this low-rank instructor than to have the public think that a random killing had occured. And that's what they did. It was better for them to ruin the career/(life?) of this one person than to ruin the reputation of Yale and threaten the livihoods of many people, in their estimations. So, that's what they did.

Evenutually the truth will come out and "apologies" will come from all over the place, but for now, let Van de Velde twist in the wind. It's better for all involved, except him, right?

Michael Rubin '94 GRD '99 has a good article in the National Review comparing the way Brodhead cancelled Van de Velde’s classes at Yale (thus destroying his academic career) with the way he cancelled the lacrosse team’s season at Duke (thus destroying the team). Duke, where Brodhead is still employed and thus has the most to lose, apologized. Yale has not. When Duke’s investigation revealed a rush to judgment, they came clean. Yale’s investigation that concluded the same has been deep-sixed. And Duke did this under the specter of lawsuits, so that’s no excuse. In fact, Yale, there is no excuse. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTcyOTVmMTQ2ZGY4NzEzNzA5ZDEzNmQxMzIyMzYwZjE=

Van de Velde is as much a victim as Jovin at this point. His 12 recommendations are so reasonable, what is wrong with the NHPD? I have no proof, of course, but I strongly feel the man is innocent. Nothing could be worse than being accused of a crime you didn't commit.

I remember well the night of Suzanne's death. A horrible day for Yale. Shocking that in this day and age, and with so much physical evidence, it hasn't been solved.

Y'01

Van de Velde is innocent and the way he was treated by Yale and Brodhead in particular is a travesty (yet another political lynching of a conservative). But, he is not exactly "as much of a victim as Jovin" for obvious reasons. Let's not get carried away. A more apt comparison is with the Duke lacrosse players (although at least the Duke players received justice at the end).

Yale '02

BTW, mine was comment #1, prior to assuming my current handle.

I only note this because I was about to dun Brodhead again...

"Demonstrating how damaging the initial headlines were to Van de Velde’s reputation, one Yale staff member who claims to have known Jovin says that even though Van de Velde’s DNA does not match that found under Jovin’s nails, he could still have been involved in the crime. “I don’t know if he did it or not, but I’m sure he was capable,” the staff member says, offering no proof and insisting on remaining anonymous."

The above quote sounds like the kind of baseless rhetoric leveled at the fraternity rushes in the "We Love Yale Sluts" case, i.e., "bad ppl capable of badness should be banned."

Thoughtcrime.

Pre-crime.

Poor Suzanne.

“If my theory is correct and the New Haven Police would have pursued this crime and investigated what happened in New York,” Halaban argues, “9/11 would not have happened.”

That's a rather huge claim - I wish they would have elaborated a bit more on how following up on the murder of a college student in 1998 could possibly have prevented the terrorist attacks in 2001!

WHY won't the Yale Health plan employees step forward with Suzanne's records? Patient privilege dies with the patient and her medical records would shed valuable light on her life which remains in shadow to the investigating team.