Former Northwestern Professor sentenced to 53 years for stabbing death of boyfriend
CHICAGO - Wyndham Lathem, the former Northwestern University professor found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2017 stabbing death of his boyfriend, Trenton Cornell, was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Tuesday.[1]
Cook County Judge Charles Burns called the killing of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau “cold-blooded” and an “execution” as he sentenced Wyndham Lathem, 47, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in October.
Back in October, jurors in Cook County deliberated less than two hours before returning the guilty verdict against Wyndham Lathem, 47, a renowned microbiologist whom Northwestern fired after he fled the Chicago area following the killing.
Cornell-Duranleau was stabbed more than 70 times on July 27, 2017, by Lathem and Andrew Warren, a British man who Lathem had paid to come to Chicago to commit the murder together, prosecutors said.
During nine days of testimony, prosecutors described Lathem as a coldblooded killer who stabbed defenseless 26-year-old Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau.[2] Defense attorneys argued their client was a bystander framed by the actual killer, alleged co-conspirator Andrew Warren, a British national who pleaded guilty to his role in the slaying.
Lathem testified during his trial that Warren alone stabbed Cornell-Duranleau during what started as a methamphetamine-fueled sexual encounter involving the three men.
Warren in 2019 pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that called for him to testify against Lathem in exchange for receiving a 45-year prison sentence.[3]
Warren, who was an Oxford University financial officer at the time of the slaying, testified that he flew from England to Chicago to meet Lathem and take part in a pact to kill each other before agreeing to kill Cornell-Duranleau at Lathem’s suggestion.
He testified that he did, in fact, stab Cornell-Duranleau, but only after Lathem had already begun stabbing him.
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Notes & References
Tareen, Sophia. “From Respected at Elite Universities to Wanted for Murder.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, August 7, 2017. https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-mi-state-wire-oxford-413f074804e3486b8959edac8d72cb68. ↩︎
“Professor Charged in Stabbing Death Blames Another Man.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, October 6, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/chicago-crime-education-9c91a525a2a9d4613b0747cff168d136. ↩︎
“British Man to Testify against Professor in Chicago Stabbing.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, July 22, 2019. https://apnews.com/b17b2d50166845dc88380d5d375ce3fd. ↩︎