Police Say A Northwestern Professor Suspected Of Murder Sent A Video To His Family Apologizing

Wyndham Lathem (left) and Andrew Warren

LinkedIn/Oxford University

A Northwestern University professor being sought for a stabbing murder in Chicago has sent family and friends a video apologizing for his role in the slaying, police said Friday.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for Wyndham Lathem, an associate professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern, and Andrew Warren, a senior treasury assistant at Oxford's Somerville College in the UK, for first-degree murder.

The pair are suspected in the murder of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 26, who was found dead in Lathem's River North apartment in downtown on July 27.

"[The Chicago Police Department] can confirm that Professor Wyndham Lathem had sent a video message to various friends and family members apologizing for his involvement in the murder of Trenton Cornell," police said in a statement. "The US Marshalls, on CPD's behalf, visited with several of these individuals and are assisting in apprehending both offenders.

"The contents of the video message are integral to any future interrogation efforts; therefore, we can not disclose the video at this time," police said.

Police have released few details about the case, but officers believe Cornell-Duranleau, a licensed cosmetologist, was killed around 5 a.m. local time, according to the Chicago Tribune.

An anonymous telephone call at 8:30 p.m. that night to the building's front desk said a crime may have been committed in Lathem's apartment. “You need to check it out," the male voice said before hanging up.

Trenton Cornell-Duranleau.

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Police found Cornell-Duranleau dead with multiple stab wounds inside the blood-spattered apartment.

A knife with a broken blade was found in the trash can, while another was found near the sink, the newspaper reported.

Lathem and Warren were filmed leaving the building together, police told the Tribune.

Cornell-Duranleau and Lathem appear to have known each other as they were friends on Facebook.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Tribune the pair had been involved in some sort of relationship but had had “some type of falling out."

Warren arrived in Chicago on a sudden trip from the UK on July 24, still grieving the death of his father eight months ago, according to the Tribune. It's not clear how he met the other men.

Police told the Tribune and the Chicago-Sun Times they suspect the fugitives made a $1,000 donation to a library in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in the victim's name.

Guglielmi has urged the two fugitives to turn themselves into authorities.

"We are stressing that we want a peaceful and safe surrender," he said.

"Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son," Charlotte Cornell, one of Cornell-Duranleau's mothers, said in a statement Thursday. "It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice."

LINK: A Northwestern Professor And An Oxford University Employee Are Wanted For Murder

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