Former Feinberg Prof. Wyndham Lathem waives right to California arraignment, will be extradited to Chicago

Ben Pope, Summer Editor

Former Feinberg Prof. Wyndham Lathem waived his right to an extradition hearing at an arraignment hearing at Alameda County Superior Court in Dublin, California on Monday afternoon, according to ABC Chicago.

Because Lathem waived his right to an extradition hearing, he was not arraigned Monday and will instead be extradited back to Chicago for an arraignment hearing at a later date.

In a news conference in Dublin before the hearing, Kenneth Wine — one of several attorneys representing Lathem — told reporters that the former Northwestern professor will be transported to Chicago in the coming weeks, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“Since the beginning of this case, the defense has received dozens of calls and letters in support of Dr. Lathem, from friends and colleagues who have known him for decades,” Wine said as part of a statement. “They all describe him in the same way: a kind, intelligent, and gentle soul, and a loyal and trusted friend.”

Lathem has been charged in connection with the murder of 26-year-old cosmetologist Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, who was found dead due to multiple stab wounds in Lathem’s North State Street apartment near downtown Chicago on July 27.

Lathem, who had been an associate professor of microbiology-immunology at Feinberg since 2007, was fired by Northwestern on Friday, University spokesman Al Cubbage said in a Monday statement.

Once back in Chicago, Lathem will be represented by the local attorney duo of Barry and Adam Sheppard, who helped coordinate Lathem’s surrender to Oakland police on Friday, according to the Tribune.

On Friday, Lathem drove University of Oxford employee Andrew Warren, who had also been wanted by police since Monday for his potential involvement in the murder, to a San Francisco police station, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Warren turned himself in at that station, then Lathem drove himself to Oakland to surrender there.

In the eight days between Cornell-Duranleau’s death and Lathem and Warren’s surrender, the two fugitives somehow traveled from Chicago to California. The trip included a stop in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where one of the two men made a $1,000 donation to a local library in Cornell-Durnaleau’s name, Lake Geneva Police Department administrative lieutenant Ed Gritzner told The Daily.

Lathem also sent a recorded video apologizing for his involvement in Cornell-Duranleau’s death to the victim’s family and friends, according to a Chicago Police Department statement issued last Friday. Officer Thomas Sweeney, a CPD spokesman, told The Daily that Lathem’s video was too integral to the investigation to be publicly released, but CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Tribune that Lathem, in the video, called the incident something like “the biggest mistake of his life.”

Adam Sheppard told the Tribune that the attorneys representing Lathem will seek to put together a case to attempt to demonstrate innocence.

“We hope his role in the matter, ultimately, will lead to innocence,” Adam Sheppard said. “We are conducting an investigation to reveal facts that possibly justify that.”

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