Althouse: "She wasn't clean, and it made him mad."

September 21, 2009

"She wasn't clean, and it made him mad."

"According to the source, Clark was 'a control freak' who insisted on lab cleanliness and 'had issues' with the way Le kept her lab and her research mice."

49 comments:

Unknown said...: Maybe she should have cleaned up after herself.; 9/21/09, 11:51 AM
former law student said...: In this light, a Corey Mintz might be a little too clean.; 9/21/09, 11:52 AM
daubiere said...: no wire cages in this lab EVER!!!; 9/21/09, 12:00 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: In that case, let's hope they use a filthy needle when they give him his lethal injection.; 9/21/09, 12:01 PM
traditionalguy said...: Unless you are a surgeon in an operating room, Clean is a code word for a miserable rule keeping repressed human. I bet he could not handle her enjoying life and being happy about her upcoming marriage to another person who was also an Uncleanie. He sure did foul up the Lab with his Clean up attempt of her Human Body full of blood, feces, urine and rotting flesh. Clean freaks can't win, and they hate others who do win in life and with other people.; 9/21/09, 12:11 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Prisons are clean. Hee-hee.

The Macho Response; 9/21/09, 12:13 PM
Alex said...: Hmmm well so the guy was just bat-shit crazy, not envious of her talent. That somehow makes me feel less awful about it.; 9/21/09, 12:25 PM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

I'm glad 'Monk' is about to end, because this would make me watch it with a little more trepidation.; 9/21/09, 12:54 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I have been saying for years a clean desk is a sign of mental instability.

I am one of the most stable peole evah!; 9/21/09, 12:54 PM
Chris Arabia said...: My conjecture / theory is: rejected romantic overture--and I'm sticking with it. If he had killed her because of her lab behavior, well, I think that's a leisurely stroll to crazy and there would have been a long trail of warnings. The lab mice thing might have been related, but in a symptomatic sense.; 9/21/09, 12:58 PM
Leland said...: "A control freak" actually seems to be an appropriate description of this guy. Well, he should like the control prisons have.; 9/21/09, 1:00 PM
traditionalguy said...: Alex...He was Rat-shit crazy. Obsessive rule keepers hate the rules that they serve night and day and they project their hatred to non-rule keepers that seem to be getting away with living a normal life...and this lady wasn't from his cultural tradition yet was still recieving love. I suspect that there is a connectionm here to why religions cause wars.And I understand that Le was a happy Christian, and that also draws irrational anger out of some people.; 9/21/09, 1:01 PM
Kate Gosselin said...: I certainly cannot condone this gentleman's actions. However, I must note that I do understand what it's like to want to be clean. And asking for a little help from those who mess things up shouldn't be controversial. I mean, after you've squeezed a litter of children through your cooch for a man, is it fair that he sits in his chair all day eating cheetos and looking at porn on the internet while the children rip the house to shreds?

It's simply a matter of polite consideration.; 9/21/09, 1:16 PM
Chris Arabia said...: Kate,

Gotta disagree -- wanting your husband to help out is really a long way from strangling some co-worker because you don't approve of her workstation. I know you aren't saying the two are comparable, but bringing them up in tandem just doesn't work for the point you're making.; 9/21/09, 1:20 PM
former law student said...: I understand that Le was a happy Christian

The NY papers indicated she was studying Hebrew preparing to convert. Shiksa (abomination, object of loathing) no more.; 9/21/09, 1:27 PM
Alex said...: What's wrong with keeping a clean desk?; 9/21/09, 1:38 PM
A.W. said...: Mmmm, the rest of the article contain info i don't think should be out there. i mean it adds nothing to our understanding but serves to upset the family.

i think the truth is that the cops just don't know why he did it, they just know he did it. but we are trained on dozens of crappy courtroom shows to believe that motive has to be known. it doesn't, but of course it certain helps.; 9/21/09, 1:43 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The worst deaths to hear about, I think, are the ones of young adults about to set off on their own lives. About to be married, about to embark on a career, about to begin a family... but now none of that will come to pass.

Young adults stand atop a stack of so many countless hours that adults have put into them, teaching them, setting examples for them. They stand poised for takeoff. Horrible that any of them should be crushed out at that moment.; 9/21/09, 1:55 PM
Alex said...: Freeman - I don't know what that's qualitatively worse then dying at 13 or 35.; 9/21/09, 1:59 PM
Rialby said...: Connecticut has had 1 execution in the last 35 years. There's no way he's going to the chamber. And that's too bad.; 9/21/09, 2:11 PM
KCFleming said...: No, it is worse in that the added dimension of not having lived, cut off before blooming, it adds a certain pain that has no comparison.

There have been several deaths in my family and friends over the years, and the worst one by far was the young adult.

The aftermath is tornadic.; 9/21/09, 2:11 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Reidenschneider: They got this guy, in Germany. Fritz Something-or-other. Or is it? Maybe it's Werner. Anyway, he's got this theory, you wanna test something, you know, scientifically - how the planets go round the sun, what sunspots are made of, why the water comes out of the tap - well, you gotta look at it. But sometimes you look at it, your looking changes it. Ya can't know the reality of what happened, or what would've happened if you hadn't-a stuck in your own goddamn schnozz. So there is no "what happened"? Not in any sense that we can grasp, with our puny minds. Because our minds... our minds get in the way. Looking at something changes it. They call it the "Uncertainty Principle". Sure, it sounds screwy, but even Einstein says the guy's on to something.; 9/21/09, 2:18 PM
Cedarford said...: Everything right now is just breathless bitches on Court TV commenting on the Yale Case.

(As opposed to the perpetually angry and self-righteous 'former prosecutor" real-life bitches of Court TV shows popping up as cable news "hang 'em high! legal experts" and "motivation diviners") - and the slightly more bona fide real reporters trying to dredge up an angle out of thin air.

The Duke Lacrosse players did it out of white skinned male privilege, a need to "control innocent black strippers", and because they play a "violent helmeted sport" Remember. And I believe the 100th motive why Natalie Holloway was supposedly murdered was dramatically revealed on "Greta!" back in 2007.

I suppose you now have to do something to rationaize "why" an apparantly well-adjusted former sports star with a live-in girlfriend and no criminal record "did it". So we have the "control freak, rat-boy" angle.

Aaron - i think the truth is that the cops just don't know why he did it, they just know he did it. but we are trained on dozens of crappy courtroom shows to believe that motive has to be known.

There was an old movie called "Willard" - about a boy and the rats he loved. He hated people who were mean to his rats. The older kids referred to it when I was a kid. Years later, I rented the vid. Ernest Borgnine was in it and played another of his sadistic bully parts he pioneered as "Fatso" in "From Here to Eternity".

Curiously, Willard is actually Mitt Romney's real 1st name. And there was a famous weather guy and "color commentator" named Fred Willard.; 9/21/09, 2:23 PM
A.W. said...: Freeman

I have long said that death is the hardest to take when a person is very full of life. i mean the hardest death in my family so far was my maternal grandfather, because he was such a happy and jovial man. like when my niece came into his world we felt very sad he in particular never got to meet her, because she was such a constant source of joy and laughter and he would have uniquely enjoyed that.

I think that is why the anne le story drew people in, too. But as my example showed, you don't have to be young to qualify.

At least that's how i feel.; 9/21/09, 3:04 PM
Cedarford said...: Rialby said...
Connecticut has had 1 execution in the last 35 years. There's no way he's going to the chamber. And that's too bad.

I don't think, even in Texas, they thirst to execute garden variety murders done on a single victim in a crime of passion. There has to be aggravating factors like premeditation, killed in an especially heinous way, killed in the course of rape, robbery, other major felony...Or killing someone whose life is more valuable than a mere ordinary civilian's, like a cop.

I do know the new form of American justice - the Jewish, Talmudic one of endless debate and due process plays out in places like Connecticut and California. Years to simply get lawyer-high priests to consent to even have a trial, then 20-25 years of appeals.

I was reading about the guy who tried to kill FDR, Guiseppe Zangara..but shot the mayor of Chicago who was also hanging with the Prez in Miami. It took 2 weeks to have a trial after Mayor Cermak died. Zangara was then on death row for 10 days and then dragged and strapped into "Old Sparky" and fried for movie newsreels.

That was before US law was subverted from "swift and sure" - into Talmudic lines.

CT is the place where two parolees broke into the home of a doctor in a home invasion in July of 2007 in a place called Cheshire. Beat him unconscious then went after the woman and daughters. One raped the 11-year old daughter. The wife managed to alert a bank teller as a thug took her to take out tens of thousands in savings...but police reacted slowly thinking they had time to carefully brief people & proceduralize their "hostage" response. But there was no real hostage situation. The woman and the two daughters were being burned alive at that point as they were tied upstairs and the hallway had been doused with gasoline.. When the cops arrived, the house was in flames and the thugs smashed through one cop car making their escape. The doctor somehow managed to wake up & free himself when the smoke reached downstairs.

No, there has been no trial yet..maybe 2010, possibly 2011 when all lawyers agree that all the "preparations" and lawyer's schedules can possibly accomodate it.
Then 20 years of appeals. Prominent attorneys and Yale Law school academics vow to "fight for the thugs rights" since this is "an ugly case that might derail work to end the death penalty in CT".
Meanwhile, 80% of CT residents support the death penalty. Not that their opinion matters much measured against the Ruling Elites views. And both thugs are in highly secure protective custody quarters to prevent other inmates from "performing any attacks or other perversions of justice and due process on the alleged suspects."

Like California, CT it seems only has the "worst of the worst" that face the death penalty, and only after 20-25 years of delay. The only one that was whacked was some serial killer who gave up on appeals after 20 years and asked to be executed. He'd still be alive today otherwise. As would Timothy McVeigh. And bin Laden if he is ever captured and faces our present Talmudic version of criminal law. At least 3 years to try Binnie and at least 20 years of appeals - after all, the ACLU Jews are passionate about the rights of the 9/11 Mastermind and have managed to derail a trial for him for 5 of the last 6 years he has been in custody.
And if Binnie and KSM ever do stand trial in NYC, they can possibly get a view as they are transported to the courtroom of The Pit...rebuilding of which after 8 years is also the victim of endless due process...

In the context of the system, and the magnitude of his crime given the inability to execute far more heinous murderers - it is safe to assume no death penalty for the Yale Grad student killer.; 9/21/09, 3:10 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I have long said that death is the hardest to take when a person is very full of life."

I wonder why we are not equally troubled to see people who are alive and not full of life. But at least we can take comfort in the fact that when they go, it will be easy to take.; 9/21/09, 3:10 PM
The Scythian said...: Aaron wrote:

"i think the truth is that the cops just don't know why he did it, they just know he did it. but we are trained on dozens of crappy courtroom shows to believe that motive has to be known. it doesn't, but of course it certain helps."

The cops may not know why he did it. That's why detectives investigate stuff, after all. Then again, they may have a pretty good idea of why he did it, but they're not saying anything yet because they don't want to harm the case.

The desire to discover a motive has little to do with "crappy courtroom shows" and everything to do with the means-motivation-opportunity triangle, one of the basic building blocks of murder investigations and prosecutions.; 9/21/09, 3:18 PM
DADvocate said...: Obviously, a nutcase. If you keep track of murders, you will find many commited for absurd reasons. Killed over a six pack of beer, and a cigarette are two hat come to mind that I remember.

eating cheetos and looking at porn

That will turn you private parts orange.; 9/21/09, 3:24 PM
paul a'barge said...: Please. Let's stop the charade. How long can the New Haven police keep up the sleight of hand to distract from the fact that the murderer raped and strangled this poor defenseless girl.; 9/21/09, 3:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Used to read NY Post and other tabloids. Now I need only read these comments.; 9/21/09, 3:41 PM
A.W. said...: Ann

Well, being full of life, as i mean it (and that might be idiosyncratic), is kind of hard to teach or influence. I mean my paternal grandparents were miserable and made each other miserable. how do you get someone to stop being that way?

So its not so much a case of being indifferent to their lack of life, but not being clear on how to change it.

Maybe you thought i was knocking people who were older or maybe handicapped. nah. some of the most "full of life" people i have phone were bound to a wheelchair and my grandfather was fairly old when he passed on. but regardless, they were a complete joy to be around.

But i will cop that my phrasing was vague, in part because its kind of hard to capture in words.; 9/21/09, 4:06 PM
Alex said...: What makes us sad is when a young person who is just entering their prime gets snuffed out. Old people dying doesn't make us as sad. Maybe it's a survival thing, the sadness.; 9/21/09, 4:08 PM
Shanna said...: And asking for a little help from those who mess things up shouldn't be controversial.

It wouldn't be a bit controversial without the murder part.; 9/21/09, 4:35 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I will say that I don't like all the articles saying, "Oh, he was just a janitor, so obviously he would have been horribly jealous of her."

He may have been jealous of her, but why impugn all janitors that way?; 9/21/09, 5:23 PM
Big Mike said...: Once it is certain from the evidence or from a confession, that he did indeed kill Ms. Le, then is there any point to working out his motive other than to determine whether he is psychologically fit to stand trial?

Here are three possible reasons why he did what he did, and a dozen more could be concocted with equal ease:

(1) He was raised that women are supposed to be subservient to men. He ordered Ms. Le to clean up her work area, and she, considering her superior status took umbrage at his attitude and reminded him that his job was to support her, and not her job to justify his pitiful existence as a mouse cage cleaner. The thought of this petite little female talking back to him was more than he could handle, given the way he was raised.

(2) He has an undiagnosed bipolar disorder coupled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and her messy work area (by his standards -- for all we know it could be spotless by a normal person's) caused his manic side to switch on big time.

(3) His girlfriend refused sex the night before and he took out his anger on this petite female he cornered in the lab.

If it's (2) he needs to be locked up and medicated. If (1) or (3) then lethal injection seems called for.

But I'm not a lawyer; I don't even play one on TV.; 9/21/09, 8:26 PM
The Scythian said...: Big Mike,

There is a point. Absolutely. Working out and articulating the motive in this crime will have a huge impact on the degree of murder he'll ultimately be convicted of and will almost certainly figure into sentencing as well.; 9/21/09, 9:18 PM
former law student said...: possible reasons why he did what he did

Not that this would justify his actions in the slightest, but my guess: She was blaming him for problems with the animals that she herself had caused, and he was in danger of getting canned. It's not unheard of for some people to "kiss up and kick down."; 9/21/09, 9:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Who knows what really happened, or what he has said. My guess is it was a dispute about the animals and their care. For a guy like that, the continued friction of someone who won't knuckle under would become unbearable.

Just my guess.; 9/21/09, 11:27 PM
Gary Rosen said...: Figure that sooner or later C-fudd and/or his butt buddy Patty Buchanan will start making excuses for Clark. You know, "He was a nice white boy enticed by that Asian slut ..." and worst of all of course is the fact she was about to marry a Joooo. That was the subject of the post that got Fudd banned from the not-too-politically-correct Ace of Spades blog:

http://minx.cc/?post=66320
(scroll to #51)

It's the same NAMBLA mentality that has these two losers blaming Poland for starting WWII.; 9/22/09, 12:07 AM
Chris Arabia said...: Gary,

Well, the local news reported on the night of 31 Aug-1 Sept 39 that Polish uniform-clad troops attacked the German installation at Gleiwitz. That's good enough for me.

I find despicable any attempt to explain this incident that in any way blames the victim.

I'm surprised that so few people seem to be citing what seems obvious to me -- he had the hots for her and that's why he killed her.; 9/22/09, 1:51 AM
Gary Rosen said...: "the local news reported on the night of 31 Aug-1 Sept 39 that Polish uniform-clad troops attacked"

Who was the reporter, Dan von Rather? Note the "Polish uniform-*clad*"; 9/22/09, 2:07 AM
Gary Rosen said...: Noting also how in stalwart Troofer fashion C-fudd tries to associate 9-11 with da Jooos despite his own political and psychological affinity with the Palestinians who danced in the streets after the attacks.; 9/22/09, 2:11 AM
Laura(southernxyl) said...: Stephen - it's obvious to you that men kill women that they have the hots for?

"Co-workers told police that Clark was a 'control freak' who viewed the laboratory and its mice as his territory...."

"The New York Times reported that Clark at times grew angry if lab workers did not wear shoe covers. 'He would make a big deal of it, instead of just requesting that they wear them,' said a researcher who asked not to be identified.

ABC News reported that Clark sent a text message to Le on the day she vanished requesting a meeting to discuss the cleanliness of mouse cages in the research lab."

Suspect in Yale murder 'a control freak' who cleaned lab's mouse cages

It doesn't appear that Le was his problem. It appears that he had a problem with everybody, and she crossed his path at the wrong moment.

As to determining motive, there is a very worthwhile reason to do this. We'd like this sort of thing not to happen again. We'd especially like it not to happen to us or people we care about. It's true that this sort of thing is uncommon and a person's chances of being murdered by a control freak are slim, but for Le and the people who cared about her, that's small comfort. So if we want to head off this kind of thing in future, it would be a good idea to figure out what happened and why. The VA Tech killer's interaction with the mental health people before he went on his rampage is an example of why there needs to be some awareness somewhere of how to spot this kind of thing before it happens.; 9/22/09, 7:18 AM
Anonymous said...: So many conclusions. So few known facts.; 9/22/09, 8:38 AM
Chris Arabia said...: No, Laura, it seems obvious to me in this case that this man killed this woman for that reason. Please note the use of this and that to specify one particular situation

Please also note the use of the verb "seems" in this and my previous comment. I don't pretend to know all the facts here, but I read the same article you reproduce and my educated guess based on what I know is still as stated--and attributing a crime of passion to love, money, or self-preservation of some kind is a defensible position.

Here, my guess is love with a twist of psycho (in the slang sense). Look up the meaning of "seems" if that helps you, Laura.

Nonetheless, I congratulate you on your ability to read a newspaper article and to draw a creepy inference from my post.

Dan von Rather, indeed. "Dan" must stand for "Danzig."

wv: stabria. kind of fitting here.; 9/22/09, 10:56 AM
Laura(southernxyl) said...: Stephen you said:

"he had the hots for her and that's why he killed her."

I didn't have to draw an inference.

You seem to see a continuum from having the hots for a woman to murder. I see a continuum from having the hots for a woman to having sex with her. I suppose that you and I have totally different definitions for what "having the hots" means.

Also, you seem to have a problem understanding that a man may have some motive apart from sex that would cause him to interact with a woman.; 9/22/09, 11:10 AM
Beth said...: Nothing says "I have the hots for you" better than texting "We need to discuss your mouse cages."; 9/22/09, 11:51 AM
former law student said...: You seem to see a continuum from having the hots for a woman to murder. I see a continuum from having the hots for a woman to having sex with her.

Maybe Snell sees Clark as a sort of male preying mantis: lust --> sex --> kill (and eat)

Lust alone is not enough motive for murder; else few women would live to be forty.; 9/22/09, 11:59 AM
Laura(southernxyl) said...: "Maybe Snell sees Clark as a sort of male preying mantis: lust --> sex --> kill (and eat)"

That must be it. Snell thinks Clark is an insect.

I'm trying to get from the hots to murder. I want a PT Cruiser - I'll buy one, then I'll deliberately crash it. I want a diamond watch - I'll go into debt to get one, then I'll flush it down the toilet.

I seriously need some chocolate - I'll walk to the store and buy a candy bar, then I'll throw it in the street.

Nope, can't see it.; 9/22/09, 12:05 PM