Wyndham Lathem
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Wyndham Willoughby Lathem (born August 10, 1974) is an American microbiologist and convicted murderer. He is a former associate professor at
Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...
at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
, a specialist in pathogenic bacteria. On July 27, 2017, 26-year-old Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, Lathem's boyfriend, was fatally stabbed over 70 times in Lathem's high-rise apartment. Following the stabbing Lathem went on the run but turned himself in to police in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
on August 4. He was indicted in September 2017 on charges of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say Lathem and Andrew Warren, a former Oxford University employee, conspired to kill the victim as part of a premeditated murder-sex fantasy.


Early life

Wyndham Lathem was born August 10, 1974. He completed his AB in biology at
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
(1992–96). He was a research technician at
Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...
from 1996 to 1998 in the laboratory of James E. Darnell, Jr., and earned his PhD from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
in microbiology (2003) in the laboratory of Rod Welch.


Career

Lathem was a post-doctoral fellow at
Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...
in molecular microbiology from 2003 to 2007 in the laboratory of Bill Goldman, now professor and chair of microbiology and immunology at the
University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
. Goldman described Lathem as "very competitive in terms of getting NIH ational Institutes of Healthfunding for his work ... and is respected for high quality research". Until his employment was terminated on August 4, 2017, Lathem was associate professor of microbiology-immunology in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. His research relates to how pathogenic bacteria, specifically
Yersinia pestis ''Yersinia pestis'' (''Y. pestis''; formerly '' Pasteurella pestis'') is a gram-negative, non-motile, coccobacillus bacterium without spores that is related to both ''Yersinia pseudotuberculosis'' and ''Yersinia enterocolitica''. It is a facult ...
, the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
plague, cause disease in human beings and how the bacterium has evolved over time. In 2016 he spoke at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree along with combined Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of M ...
on "Your Own Worst Enemy: How Yersinia pestis Turns the Body Against Itself." In 2017, he presented on "From Mild to Murderous: How Yersinia pestis Evolved to Cause Pneumonic Plague".


Arrest

In early August 2017, he and Andrew Warren were detained in connection with the July 27, 2017 fatal stabbing of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau that occurred at Lathem's apartment in Chicago. On August 4 Lathem turned himself in to police in Oakland, California, and Warren turned himself in to police in San Francisco. He was returned to Chicago on August 18. He remains incarcerated in Chicago's Cook County Jail, where he is awaiting trial. He has entered a plea of "not guilty" to murder charges. During the
COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Lathem's lawyers applied for bail, so he could assist in researching the virus, but his application was denied. Lathem was found guilty on October 7, 2021.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lathem, Wyndham 1974 births Living people American microbiologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Vassar College alumni Northwestern Medicine faculty Washington University in St. Louis fellows