Crime & Law
Appellate Court Overturns Ex-Northwestern Professor's Murder Conviction in Grisly Stabbing
An undated mug shot shows Wyndham Lathem. (Chicago Police Department)
An Illinois appellate court has overturned the murder conviction of a former Northwestern University professor and microbiologist who was convicted in the grisly stabbing death of a man inside his River North apartment.
The court on Friday ruled that Wyndham Lathem had been improperly denied access to his legal counsel by Judge Charles Burns during an overnight recess in his 2021 trial.
“Due to the trial court’s order forbidding a testifying defendant from consulting with his attorney during an overnight recess in violation of his right to counsel, and our crystal-clear and consistent precedent on this issue, we have no choice but to reverse and remand for a retrial,” the appellate court wrote in its ruling. “As heinous as murder is, these rights are crucial to the effective administration of justice.”
The issue arose during a late day of testimony by Lathem. As the parties recessed for the evening, Burns instructed Lathem that he was not allowed to discuss “anything related to this case, including your testimony with your attorneys right now.”
“This is the exception to the rule, you’re normally allowed to talk to your attorney, but since you’re subject to cross-examination, I don’t want you talking to them,” Burns said, according to the ruling.
Lathem indicated that he understood, but after further discussions on another matter, one of Lathem’s attorneys asked Burns if he could update his client on what was going on.
“No, no,” Burns said. “He — he is under oath, you cannot discuss his testimony. I understand it puts you in a bind, guys, but I really don’t see any way around this.”
The following morning, Lathem’s attorneys objected to not being allowed to speak with their client.
Prosecutors at trial had alleged Lathem and Andrew Warren carried out a “sexual fantasy” in killing 26-year-old Trenton Cornell in 2017, stating the pair had been communicating through an online chatroom for months before the killing.
Cornell was stabbed 78 times and was nearly decapitated during the attack, according to prosecutors.
Lathem and Warren fled Chicago following the killing and eluded capture for more than a week as they made their way out west.
During that time, Lathem made a stop to record a video expressing his remorse for their crime, calling it the “biggest mistake of his life,” according to police, and made a donation in Cornell-Duranleau’s name to the Lake Geneva Public Library in Wisconsin.
The two eventually turned themselves in to authorities in California several days after they “ran out of road” to run, prosecutors said.
Warren agreed to a plea deal and testified against Lathem at trial in exchange for a 45-year prison sentence.
