Jovin Family Reacts to Annie Le Killing

The parents of Suzanne Jovin, another young woman murdered while a student at Yale, are speaking out in light of Annie Le's death and urging the Governor to increase funding for DNA testing.

"We agonize and lament with the family and close friends of this latest victim," wrote Drs. Thomas and Donna Jovin in an open letter to Governor M. Jodi Rell.

Jovin, a Yale senior, was stabbed repeatedly in the back almost 11 years ago in New Haven. No one has been charged with the crime.

The letter also revealed that the Jovins were in New Haven recently to meet with the State's Attorney and a new investigative team assembled two years ago to explore every shred of evidence. 

The Jovins, who live in Germany, write that during the meeting "it became apparent that potential forensic investigations, made possible by significant advances in technology in the intervening decade, are not being carried out due to shortcomings in the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory."

The letter urges Rell to use "funds and expertise" to conduct the necessary testing to solve violent crimes.

For their part, Rell's office released the letter with a statement from August 2009 in which Rell announced, "the state will use nearly $2 million from the federal stimulus package to sharply accelerate the rate of DNA testing".  The state, she continued, would also use $1.8 million to fund more than ten positions at the state lab.

"One should not compound the tragedies of Suzanne Jovin, Annie Le, and other victims by failing to apply the necessary resources for resolving the circumstances of the crimes committed against them," the Jovins wrote.
 

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