Suspect in Yale murder arraigned

New Haven (WTNH) - The Yale lab tech accused in the murder of Annie Le has been arraigned at New Haven Superior Court.

Raymond Clark, 24, did not enter a plea during the brief court appearance. He's being held on a $3 million bond.

Clark was arrested Thursday morning at a Cromwell motel. 

Published reports indicate a DNA match between Raymond Clark and Le. At a news conference New Haven Police Chief James Lewis said the warrant was signed and sealed, so no details would be released.

Chief Lewis said they have no other suspects at this time, "but you never know where evidence will take you."

Le's family has been notified, the chief said.

"Close to 300 items have been seized in this investigation, and detectives have worked around the clock on this case," Chief Lewis said. There is a lot of evidence that still has to go to the lab," he said.

The head of the Connecticut FBI, Kim Mertz, specifically thanked the FBI's polygraph unit and behavioral analysis unit for their work in the case, but she refused to comment when asked if Clark failed a lie detector test.

In a statement Yale University President Richard Levin said he was "relieved and
encouraged by this progress in the investigation."

"It is frightening that a member of our own community might have committed this terrible crime. But we must not let this incident shatter our trust in one another," Levin said.

Clark worked as a lab technician at Yale since December 2004.

Sources tell the New Haven Register and Yale Daily News the DNA matches evidence taken from the building where Le was found dead. Avery did not know whether any DNA matches had been made, the AP reported.

State police expedited the DNA testing of evidence collected from Clark and 10 Amistad St. to determine whether there was match.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner on Wednesday announced the cause of death as traumatic asphyxiation.

ABC News reports that Raymond Clark texted Le, on the day of her disappearance, that they should meet and talk about the "dirty mice;" potentially referring to the animals she was working on in the lab for research.

ABC News also says following Le's death, Clark had wounds on his back, his chest and arms -- indicating a sign of some sort of struggle -- and was tracked, through his building key card, going into several rooms of the lab.

Raymond Clark was taken into custody Tuesday night, and police issued two search warrants, one for his Middletown apartment and the other for his body, where DNA was taken.

He was released around 3:00 a.m. Since then, police executed another two search warrants, for Clark's car and some more property that belonged to the Yale employee. Clark invoked his rights while he was with officers.

The tipping point for police, and perhaps for Clark, is the DNA. More than 250 items have been seized, and the state lab has been working around the clock analyzing anything and eventually everything that comes their way.

The basis of this investigation is in the physical evidence and they believe there is only one suspect.

"Annie Le was a young woman with unlimited potential," Chief Lewis said. "Her loss will be deeply felt by her family, friends and the community."