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Northwestern Prof. Wanted For River North Murder Surrenders In California

By Tanveer Ali | August 5, 2017 7:55am
 Microbiology professor Wyndham Lathem (l.) and Andrew Warren were taken into custody Friday night by the U.S. Marshals, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Microbiology professor Wyndham Lathem (l.) and Andrew Warren were taken into custody Friday night by the U.S. Marshals, according to the Chicago Police Department.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee; Chicago Police

CHICAGO — A Northwestern professor and an employee of Oxford University wanted for a River North murder surrendered to authorities in Oakland, Calif., after sparking a nationwide manhunt, police said.

Microbiology professor Wyndham Lathem and Andrew Warren were taken into custody Friday night by the U.S. Marshals, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Lathem and Warren were named in first-degree murder warrants that allege the men stabbed Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau multiple times.

Chicago Police issued a statement thanking the U.S. Marshals and other agencies for having "worked around the clock with our detectives" in the search.

"Both individuals will be held accountable for their actions and we hope today's arrest brings some small level of closure and justice for Trenton Cornell-Duranleau's family," the statement said. "We are also thankful both men are safely in custody and this did not end in further tragedy."

 Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau
Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau
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Prior to surrendering, Lathem sent an apology video to friends and family for his involvement in Cornell-Duranleau's death.

The slaying of 26-year-old Cornell-Duranleau happened July 27 in Lathem's 10th-floor apartment at the Grand Plaza, 540 N. State Street, authorities allege.

Cornell-Duranleau was found stabbed about 8:30 p.m. that evening and was pronounced dead at 9:05 p.m.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Cornell-Duranleau's death a homicide. He lived in the 2200 block of South Wood Street in Chicago.

The day after the slaying, Lathem and Warren went to the Lake Geneva Public Library in Wisconsin and donated $1,000 in Cornell-Duranleau's name, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

In an email to residents Monday, Grand Plaza management wrote the Police Department was investigating the death as a homicide.

"Police are currently working on the timeline and background of the victim and are exploring a variety of motives, including a possible domestic incident," the email read.

According to Northwestern University spokesman Alan Cubbage, Lathem is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology who has worked for Northwestern since 2007. He has been placed on administrative leave and barred from entering school property, Cubbage said, noting that the school was cooperating with police.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Lathem researches the ways in which pathogenic bacteria cause disease in humans. He focuses on "host-pathogen interaction" in lung infections.

Warren is a senior treasury assistant at the University of Oxford in Great Britain, according to the school's website. Court documents place his home address in Oxford, England.

“We have been in contact with the police in the U.K. and are ready to help the U.S. investigating authorities in any way they need," a spokesman from the University of Oxford and Somerville College said. "Andrew Warren’s colleagues at Somerville College have now all been informed and are shocked to learn of the case. Whatever the circumstances, we would urge him to contact the U.S. authorities as soon as possible, in the best interests of everyone concerned.”

Cornell-Duranleau, a native of Corunna, Mich., had jobs as a hair stylist after earning his cosmetology license at Stanley Harris School of Cosmetology in Holland, Mich., according to an obituary posted by his family.

"Throughout his life, he loved music and animals," the obituary read. "His enthusiasm for life was infectious. Trenton was a caregiver and loved to help others. His youthful free spirit fueled his love of cars, video games and cartoons."