One after another, relatives of slain Yale graduate student Annie Le addressed the court Friday with wrenching declarations about their loss and the senseless crime that brought it about. Then, the man who confessed to her murder, Raymond Clark III, wiped his eyes and told the court that he took full responsibility.
“I am truly sorry I took Annie away from her friends, her family and, most of all, her fiance,” said Clark, who killed Le in a Yale University research building in September 2009 and stuffed her body behind a wall days before she was to be married. “I have always tried to do the right thing and stay out of trouble, but I failed.
“I took a life and continued to lie about it while Annie’s friends, family and fiance sat and waited,” Clark said. “Annie was and will always be a wonderful person, by far a better person than I will ever be in my life. I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I ruined lives. And I’m sorry for taking Annie Le’s life.”
Moments later, Judge Roland D. Fasano sentenced Clark to prison for 44 years for a crime the judge called “mind-numbing.”
“Closure is not a likely scenario,” Fasano said.
The sentence capped an hour’s worth of emotional testimony from Le’s family.
Her mother, Vivian Van Le, told Clark that she will never understand why he took away her only daughter.
In a steady, calm voice, she read a statement in Superior Court, just a few feet from where Clark sat.
“I will never hug Annie again. The world will never know what she had to offer,” Le said. “I will never see her walking down the aisle. I will never hold my grandchildren.
“Her life is gone,” Le continued. “Society lost a great woman. My family lost a beautiful soul.”
The mother and other family members traveled from California for Friday’s sentencing hearing.
The 44-year sentence was part of a plea agreement for the slaying of Le, 24, a third-year doctoral student in pharmacology from Placerville, Calif. The prosecutor said the length of the sentence initially was not “entirely satisfactory” to either side. Clark, 26, of Middletown, Conn., will get out of prison in 2053.
Other family members followed Le’s mother in addressing the court. As family members spoke, Clark dabbed his red eyes with a tissue. He often looked at the speaker or up toward the ceiling.
Truong Van Bui, Annie’s uncle, broke down in tears as he recounted the horrifying phone call he received Sept. 9, 2009 – just days before Annie was to be married on Long Island – saying Annie was missing.
Still, he held on to the belief that she was OK. On Sept. 11, he went to New York anyway, determined to believe that the wedding would still take place. It was there that he learned she was dead.
Bui sobbed as he talked about what he believed were Annie’s final moments.
“Annie’s death was not a random act,” he said. “It was a deliberate choice of an evil act against another human being.”
Le was killed and her body stuffed into a wall of a Yale University research center. Her body was discovered Sept. 13, on what was to be her wedding day.
Robert Nguyen, the uncle who raised Annie, read a statement saying that Clark should not get anything less than a life sentence, and that the family’s pain and suffering has been “immeasurable.”
Annie’s younger brother spoke through tears of how he had counseling after her death. A victim advocate sat with him, patting his back. The brother said he hopes that Clark carries the burden and guilt of killing his sister.
“I am truly sorry I took Annie away from her friends, her family and, most of all, her fiance,” said Clark, who killed Le in a Yale University research building in September 2009 and stuffed her body behind a wall days before she was to be married. “I have always tried to do the right thing and stay out of trouble, but I failed.
“I took a life and continued to lie about it while Annie’s friends, family and fiance sat and waited,” Clark said. “Annie was and will always be a wonderful person, by far a better person than I will ever be in my life. I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I ruined lives. And I’m sorry for taking Annie Le’s life.”
Moments later, Judge Roland D. Fasano sentenced Clark to prison for 44 years for a crime the judge called “mind-numbing.”
“Closure is not a likely scenario,” Fasano said.
The sentence capped an hour’s worth of emotional testimony from Le’s family.
Her mother, Vivian Van Le, told Clark that she will never understand why he took away her only daughter.
In a steady, calm voice, she read a statement in Superior Court, just a few feet from where Clark sat.
“I will never hug Annie again. The world will never know what she had to offer,” Le said. “I will never see her walking down the aisle. I will never hold my grandchildren.
“Her life is gone,” Le continued. “Society lost a great woman. My family lost a beautiful soul.”
The mother and other family members traveled from California for Friday’s sentencing hearing.
The 44-year sentence was part of a plea agreement for the slaying of Le, 24, a third-year doctoral student in pharmacology from Placerville, Calif. The prosecutor said the length of the sentence initially was not “entirely satisfactory” to either side. Clark, 26, of Middletown, Conn., will get out of prison in 2053.
Other family members followed Le’s mother in addressing the court. As family members spoke, Clark dabbed his red eyes with a tissue. He often looked at the speaker or up toward the ceiling.
Still, he held on to the belief that she was OK. On Sept. 11, he went to New York anyway, determined to believe that the wedding would still take place. It was there that he learned she was dead.
Bui sobbed as he talked about what he believed were Annie’s final moments.
“Annie’s death was not a random act,” he said. “It was a deliberate choice of an evil act against another human being.”
Le was killed and her body stuffed into a wall of a Yale University research center. Her body was discovered Sept. 13, on what was to be her wedding day.
Robert Nguyen, the uncle who raised Annie, read a statement saying that Clark should not get anything less than a life sentence, and that the family’s pain and suffering has been “immeasurable.”
Annie’s younger brother spoke through tears of how he had counseling after her death. A victim advocate sat with him, patting his back. The brother said he hopes that Clark carries the burden and guilt of killing his sister.
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