Police in California arrest Northwestern professor suspected in slaying

Professor Wyndham Lathem and another suspect are in custody in California

ByABC News
August 4, 2017, 11:48 PM

— -- A Northwestern University professor accused in the fatal stabbing of a man found in the educator's Chicago apartment has been arrested -- as has the second suspect in the case -- and both men are now in police custody in Oakland, California, Chicago police announced late Friday night.

Arrest warrants for first degree murder in Chicago were issued earlier this week for both men.

"BREAKING: CPD has gotten word that Prof. Wyndham Lathem and Andrew Warren are both in police custody in Oakland, CA via @USMarshalsGov," Chicago Police chief communications officer tweeted, marking the end of an intense manhunt for the pair, whom police had urged to surrender.

Latham was arrested around 7:30 p.m. in Oakland by U.S. Marshals after the agency was able to track the professor to the Bay Area city and get in communication with him, U.S. Marshals spokesman Ed Farrell told ABC News.

Farrell said U.S. Marshals were able to facilitate his surrender. He turned himself in at the Federal Courthouse in Oakland.

Andrew Warren was arrested after he "safely surrendered" himself around 6:30 p.m. to San Francisco police, authorities said.

Both men -- taken into custody without incident -- will appear before an Oakland Court and are now awaiting extradition to Illinois, where they will be interrogated by Chicago homicide detectives.

Here's what we know about the case:

The crime

On July 27 around 8:30 p.m. local time, officers responded to a call at an apartment registered to Wyndham Lathem, an associate professor at Northwestern, Chicago police said.

There, officers found a man with several lacerations to his body, police said. The victim died at the scene.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told ABC News that authorities believe Lathem "and the victim had a relationship."

The suspects

Police had identified Lathem, 42, as well as Warren, 56, an Oxford employee, as suspects in the killing.

PHOTO: Wyndham Latham (L) and Andrew Warren (R) are wanted in connection with a fatal stabbing in Chicago.
Wyndham Latham (L) and Andrew Warren (R) are wanted in connection with a fatal stabbing in Chicago.

Lathem, who has been a faculty member at Northwestern's microbiology-immunology department for 10 years, has been banned from entering the school, Alan Cubbage, Northwestern University vice president for university relations, said in a statement Wednesday.

"There is no indication of any risk to the Northwestern community from this individual at this time," Cubbage added.

According to police, Lathem sent a video message to various friends and family members apologizing for his alleged involvement in the killing.

Lathem described the killing as the biggest mistake of his life, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, but police will not release the video, as it is evidence in an ongoing investigation.

Guglielmi told ABC News Friday the two suspects donated $1,000 in the victim’s name to the public library in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

According to The Associated Press, Warren "is a senior treasury assistant at Somerville College in England, which is part of the Oxford University network." Warren's city of residence is listed as Oxford on his arrest warrant.

PHOTO: Andrew Warren is wanted in connection with a fatal stabbing in Chicago.
Andrew Warren is wanted in connection with a fatal stabbing in Chicago.

The manhunt

Guglielmi had said in an email Thursday that the men were at-large but "we have an idea of their whereabouts."

He said that once police had "suspicions that the professor and his associate may have fled the Chicago area," several federal agencies were brought in to investigate and a national alert was sent to police departments across the country advising that murder warrants were issued for both men.

Lathem's passport and Warren's travel visa were restricted, Guglielmi said.

The victim

Family members of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 26, confirmed in a statement Friday that he was killed in the apartment. Arrest warrants for the suspects identified the victim as Trenton Cornell.

The Cornell-Duranleau family said, "Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son. It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice."

The family requested privacy as they "process and grieve."

ABC News' Josh Margolin and Jim Vojtech contributed to this report.