New Haven Independent

The latter statement was issued outside Yale’s Woodbridge Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Pastor Dennis Smith read the just-under two-minute statement in front of reporters, then left without taking questions. The statement was written by the families of Annie Le, the 24 year-old pharmacology grad student killed last week in a Yale medical building; and of Jonathan Widawsky, the man she was supposed to marry Sunday. Her remains were found that day instead, inside a wall.

“We want to express our gratitude to the following law enforcement agencies for the professional and compassionate manner in which they are conducting this investigation,” the statement read. It cited the FBI, state police, and New Haven and Yale police departments.

Click on the play arrow at the top of the story to watch the full statement.

That was a contrast to the letter released earlier Tuesday by the family of Suzanne Jovin, the undergraduate murdered in 1998. The cops botched that case. It has never been solved.

The letter was addressed to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. It expressed sympathy for the Le family — and called on the governor to make improvements at the state forensics lab.

“This facility, once regarded as a leading forensic unit in the country, is suffering from understaffing and inadequate funding. As a consequence, the unit is struggling to satisfy the needs of ongoing and emerging investigations, not to speak of ‘cold cases’ such as the murder of our daughter,” the letter read.

Click here to read the letter.

Rell’s office responded by citing an August press release announcing that the state will be spending almost $2 million in federal stimulus money to improve its DNA operation. Click here to read that release.

Click here to read about the contrast between the Jovin and Le murder investigations.