Missing Yale student found dead behind wall on day of her planned wedding.

[Malthus]

Certainly it is possible. We are I think discussing probabilities. The lack of an extensive history of violence (if there is such a lack) simply makes it more probable that he has some more specific motive for his crime than an argument over lab protocol gone badly wrong - because it is probable that someone who had such poor impulse control would, sometime prior to adulthood, come to the repeated attention of the cops.

Well, what possible motives would you suggest in this case?  I am curious why you think he might have committed this crime in this particular manner.

Pure speculation here, but the fact that both of these people were about to get married to other people is suggestive to me.

I speculate that they either had a sexual relationship, or that he wanted to have a sexual relationship. She rebuffed him (or dumped him) and prepared to marry someone else.

He, a controlling and jealous sort, was pissed by this. He rebounded and was going to marry another, but her rejection of him rankled and festered and was kept alive by the fact that they had to work in close proximity. In short, he wished her nothing but ill, and probably she knew it - he probably put her down, sniped at her. Maybe she sniped back.

That day, they were in the lab together and she said something that really set them to fighting - probably wedding-related, as she was about to get married. Something along the lines of "I'm getting married to a better man than you could ever be". He lashed out at her, verbally or physically; she responded in kind. Soon they were fighting, or more accurately, he was beating on her (she's a small woman). This ended with him strangling her to death.

Now he must have known he was well and truly fucked. He hides the body and cleans up as best he can, but what hope has he? He can't get the body out without it being noticed.

   

[Caliga]

I've changed my opinion to agree with Caliga:

Police said it was a case of workplace violence, but didn't elaborate.

"It is important to note that this is not about urban crime, university crime, domestic crime but an issue of workplace violence, which is becoming a growing concern around the country," Lewis said.

What exactly does "workplace violence" mean?  i.e. is he equating this with a postal worker shooting up a mail facility?

[merithyn]

I dunno. It sounds more likely - with more evidence coming out - that it really was a work-related thing only.

He got pissed that she messed something up - or she got pissed that he did - they got into a fight about it, she didn't back down, and he got violent. He's twice her size and muscular, according to reports. If he just meant to hold her against the wall with his arm across her throat, I could see someone like he appears to be going too far, and then going, "Oh shit!"

The picture coming out about him isn't pretty. He appears to be controlling, somewhat violent with women (rape at 18?), and aggressive. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he went over the edge because she wouldn't back down.

[Malthus]

I've changed my opinion to agree with Caliga:

Police said it was a case of workplace violence, but didn't elaborate.

"It is important to note that this is not about urban crime, university crime, domestic crime but an issue of workplace violence, which is becoming a growing concern around the country," Lewis said.

What exactly does "workplace violence" mean?  i.e. is he equating this with a postal worker shooting up a mail facility?

The police statement isn't exactly informative of anything. 

[Caliga]

Pure speculation here, but the fact that both of these people were about to get married to other people is suggestive to me.

I speculate that they either had a sexual relationship, or that he wanted to have a sexual relationship. She rebuffed him (or dumped him) and prepared to marry someone else.

He, a controlling and jealous sort, was pissed by this. He rebounded and was going to marry another, but her rejection of him rankled and festered and was kept alive by the fact that they had to work in close proximity. In short, he wished her nothing but ill, and probably she knew it - he probably put her down, sniped at her. Maybe she sniped back.

That day, they were in the lab together and she said something that really set them to fighting - probably wedding-related, as she was about to get married. Something along the lines of "I'm getting married to a better man than you could ever be". He lashed out at her, verbally or physically; she responded in kind. Soon they were fighting, or more accurately, he was beating on her (she's a small woman). This ended with him strangling her to death.

Now he must have known he was well and truly fucked. He hides the body and cleans up as best he can, but what hope has he? He can't get the body out without it being noticed.

I like this theory (and I am 100% sure your last paragraph is accurate), but the problem with is is that the media has, from the beginning, portrayed Ms. Le as a perfect little angel, no doubt fueled by the many people interviewed who claimed she was perfect in every way.  If these portrayals are accurate, it seems unlikely that she would have been cheating on her fiancee in a long-term way such as this (they met as undergrads, so well before she was ever at Yale).

Of course, this is often what the media does when someone is victimized: they are portrayed as some quasi-messianic figure.

[merithyn]

What exactly does "workplace violence" mean?  i.e. is he equating this with a postal worker shooting up a mail facility?

I read that to mean, "Something that was work-related only."

[Warspite]

* Apparently he texted her that morning requesting that they meet to talk about some mice-related shit.  I thought it was strange that he would be texting a co-worker on her cell phone, unless they had some relationship outside of work.

What decade are you in? Nothing at all odd for colleagues to have each other's cell numbers these days, especially 20-somethings. I bet they were even friends on Facebook.

[Malthus]

I like this theory (and I am 100% sure your last paragraph is accurate), but the problem with is is that the media has, from the beginning, portrayed Ms. Le as a perfect little angel, no doubt fueled by the many people interviewed who claimed she was perfect in every way.  If these portrayals are accurate, it seems unlikely that she would have been cheating on her fiancee in a long-term way such as this (they met as undergrads, so well before she was ever at Yale).

Of course, this is often what the media does when someone is victimized: they are portrayed as some quasi-messianic figure.

Well, sure, the early reports are going to be based on what her grieving family, fiancee and friends are saying; and that is going to be in the nature of a eulogy.

In any event, it need not be the case that they actually had a relationship - maybe he just wanted one, and she didn't. Though I suspect there was probably something more.

I would find in a remarkable coincidence that the murder happened just when both parties are getting married, and had nothing to do with their personal lives at all but simply be a case of "lab rat cage rage". 

[Caliga]

What decade are you in? Nothing at all odd for colleagues to have each other's cell numbers these days, especially 20-somethings. I bet they were even friends on Facebook.

I would agree if we're talking about two salesmen or something, but I doubt either one of them had a university-supplied phone given the nature of their work.  I don't go around handing my personal cell # to co-workers.  Then again, I have a corporate Blackberry so have no need to do so. 

[Caliga]

I would find in a remarkable coincidence that the murder happened just when both parties are getting married, and had nothing to do with their personal lives at all but simply be a case of "lab rat cage rage". 

I agree that it's a remarkable coincidence, but sometimes things are just that: coincidences.

[DGuller]

This story now reminds me of the story from my own college.  There was some romantic/cheating story between the TA and some Asian chick.  One day TA comes armed and sticks a knife in the Asian chick's chest.  The Asian chick manages to get away and alert the security.  SWAT came in and trapped the guy in his office.  Turns out he also had a gun on him, which he eventually used to kill himself.  The Asian chick survived, luckily.

[swallow]

What decade are you in? Nothing at all odd for colleagues to have each other's cell numbers these days, especially 20-somethings. I bet they were even friends on Facebook.

I would agree if we're talking about two salesmen or something, but I doubt either one of them had a university-supplied phone given the nature of their work.  I don't go around handing my personal cell # to co-workers.  Then again, I have a corporate Blackberry so have no need to do so. 

No, we share numbers quite normally, although that might tie in with most of us being part-time

[Malthus]

This story now reminds me of the story from my own college.  There was some romantic/cheating story between the TA and some Asian chick.  One day TA comes armed and sticks a knife in the Asian chick's chest.  The Asian chick manages to get away and alert the security.  SWAT came in and trapped the guy in his office.  Turns out he also had a gun on him, which he eventually used to kill himself.  The Asian chick survived, luckily.

When I was going to university, I took many courses in East Asian studies. People just assumed white dudes who took such courses were doing it to meet Asian chicks, and in many cases it was true.  Wasn't true in my case - I like Asian chicks fine, but not moreso than others.

There was a bit of an ugly side to it, as some guys (a small  minority) with a thing for Asian chicks were into them because they liked women who were, as it were, ultra-submissive, and Asian women are, supposedly. Actual real life Asian chicks rarely lived up to the submissive stereotype, however.  This sort of thing could lead to trouble.

[Warspite]

What decade are you in? Nothing at all odd for colleagues to have each other's cell numbers these days, especially 20-somethings. I bet they were even friends on Facebook.

I would agree if we're talking about two salesmen or something, but I doubt either one of them had a university-supplied phone given the nature of their work.  I don't go around handing my personal cell # to co-workers.  Then again, I have a corporate Blackberry so have no need to do so. 

Maybe things are different in the States then. But over here, given the dominance of cell phones as the primary means of communication, numbers are swapped with colleagues.I've got about nine or ten different work related phone numbers. And at university, I had the phone numbers of many people in my study and tutorial groups.

Actually I'm betting it's a generational thing - 90% of these non-friend numbers are still from my peer group.

[The Minsky Moment]

re the motive.

If theguy did it (and that is a quesiton that it seems likely the evidence will prove), then there was some reason why , but it really doesn't matter.  What matters is that he did it

I see no reason to elevate the victim into some paragon, but I am uncomfortable about speculating about the motive in such a way that reflects negatively on the victim's character without very good cause for doing so.  The dead can't speak in their own defense.