Wyndham Willoughby Lathem (born August 10, 1974) is an American microbiologist and convicted murderer. He is a former associate professor at Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, a specialist in pathogenic bacteria.
On July 27, 2017, 26-year-old Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, Lathem's boyfriend, was fatally stabbed over 70 times in Lathem's high-rise apartment.[1] Following the stabbing Lathem went on the run but turned himself in to police in Oakland, California on August 4.[2] He was indicted in September 2017 on charges of first-degree murder;[3] prosecutors said Lathem and Andrew Warren, a former Oxford University employee, conspired to kill the victim as part of a premeditated murder-sex fantasy.[4] He was found guilty on October 7, 2021,[5] and sentenced on January 25, 2022, to 53 years in prison.[6]
Early life edit
Wyndham Lathem was born August 10, 1974.[7] He completed his AB in biology at Vassar College (1992–96). He was a research technician at Rockefeller University from 1996 to 1998 in the laboratory of James E. Darnell, Jr., and earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in microbiology (2003) in the laboratory of Rod Welch.[8]
Career edit
Lathem was a post-doctoral fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in molecular microbiology from 2003 to 2007 in the laboratory of Bill Goldman, now professor and chair of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Goldman described Lathem as "very competitive in terms of getting NIH [National Institutes of Health] funding for his work ... and is respected for high quality research".[9]
Until his employment was terminated on August 4, 2017,[10] Lathem was associate professor of microbiology-immunology in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. His research relates to how pathogenic bacteria, specifically Yersinia pestis, the Black Death plague, cause disease in human beings[11][12] and how the bacterium has evolved over time.[13] In 2016 he spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine on "Your Own Worst Enemy: How Yersinia pestis Turns the Body Against Itself."[14] In 2017, he presented on "From Mild to Murderous: How Yersinia pestis Evolved to Cause Pneumonic Plague".[15]
Arrest edit
In early August 2017, he and Andrew Warren were detained in connection with the July 27, 2017 fatal stabbing of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau that occurred at Lathem's apartment in Chicago. On August 4 Lathem turned himself in to police in Oakland, California, and Warren turned himself in to police in San Francisco.[2] He was returned to Chicago on August 18.[16] During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Lathem's lawyers applied for bail, so he could assist in researching the virus, but his application was denied.[17] Lathem was found guilty on October 7, 2021.[5] On January 25, 2022, he was sentenced to 53 years in prison by Cook County Criminal Court Judge Charles Burns.[6]
References edit
- ^ Crepeau, Megan (May 14, 2020). "Ex-Northwestern professor charged in sex killing again cites immunology expertise in bid to leave jail and fight COVID-19". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Professor, British man suspected in brutal slaying surrender peacefully". CBS News. Associated Press. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Perez, Alan (September 30, 2019). "Former Northwestern prof. Wyndham Lathem, accused of murder, faces testimony from co-defendant who accepted plea agreement". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ Perez, Alan (September 30, 2019). "Former Northwestern prof. Wyndham Lathem, accused of murder, faces testimony from co-defendant who accepted plea agreement". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ a b Lubbers, Max (11 October 2021). "Former Northwestern professor Wyndham Lathem convicted of murder". The Daily Northwestern.
- ^ a b "Former Northwestern Professor Wyndham Lathem Gets 53 Years For Murder Of Boyfriend Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau". CBS2 Chicago. 25 January 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ Inmate Locator. Alameda County. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Wyndham W Lathem, PhD. Northwestern Medicine. Archived at archive.org Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Official: Police closing in on Northwestern-Oxford duo. Don Babwin, AP, The Washington Post, 3 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Jaschik, Scott (August 9, 2017). "Northwestern Fires Accused Murderer". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Oxford University worker in murder manhunt", Nadeem Badshah, The Times, 3 August 2017, p. 17.
- ^ How small genetic change in Yersinia pestis changed human history. phys.org 30 June 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Studying bubonic plague at Northwestern. Aimee Levitt, chicago reader.com, 12 April 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Wyndham Lathem, Ph.D., "Your Own Worst Enemy: How Yersinia pestis Turns the Body Against Itself." Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UNC School of Medicine, 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ From Mild to Murderous: How Yersinia pestis Evolved to Cause Pneumonic Plague. Recording Archaeology, YouTube, 30 January 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ^ Pope, Ben (August 19, 2017). "Ex-Feinberg Prof. Wyndham Lathem returns to Chicago; meth found in stabbing victim's autopsy". The Daily Northwestern.
- ^ AP (2020-06-13). "Ex-Northwestern professor accused in River North murder denied bail 2nd time in effort to help research COVID-19". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-01.