Cook County

Search for NU Professor and Oxford Employee Narrows as Police Say River North Victim Was ‘Savagely Murdered'

The pair are wanted in connection with the death of 26-year-old Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau, who was found fatally stabbed on the tenth floor of the Grand Plaza Apartments on State Street

Police are intensifying their search for a Northwestern University professor and a University of Oxford employee wanted in connection with a fatal Chicago stabbing and believe they know where the suspects might be. 

"We do have an idea of their whereabouts and efforts to locate them are only intensifying from here on in," Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 42-year-old Wyndham Lathem and 56-year-old Andrew Warren in connection with the killing of 26-year-old Trenton H. James Cornell-Duranleau, who was found stabbed to death last week on the tenth floor of the Grand Plaza Apartments on State Street.

"Our primary focus is to facilitate a safe surrender and we strongly encourage Professor Lathem and Mr. Warren to do the right thing and turn themselves into any police department in the US or contact CPD and we will make any necessary accommodations," Guglielmi said. 

Police have said the men are believed to be "armed and dangerous" and may have fled from the Chicago area. Lathem's passport has been flagged and Warren's travel visa has been revoked, and the U.S. Marshal Service has also joined in the search. 

Guglielmi added that the River North crime scene was "gruesome and the victim was savagely murdered." 

He would not release further details on the crime scene, but the Chicago Tribune reports blood was found on a bedroom door in the apartment where Cornell-Duranleau was found dead from stab wounds. The report, citing law enforcement sources, also says a knife with a broken blade was found in the trash in the kitchen and another knife was located near the sink. 

According to authorities, the pair was spotted on surveillance video leaving the property after the the incident. 

Sources told the Tribune "blood was everywhere." 

Cornell-Duranleau, a Michigan native and hairstylist, was pronounced dead at the scene just after 9 p.m. Thursday. An autopsy found he died of multiple sharp force injuries and his death was ruled a homicide. 

Lathem is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University's medical school, where he has worked for 10 years. He has been placed on administrative leave and banned from entering Northwestern campuses, according to university spokesman Alan Cubbage.

“There is no indication of any risk to the Northwestern community from this individual at this time,” Cubbage said in an emailed statement. 

Warren is a senior treasury assistant at the University of Oxford in Great Britain, according to the university’s website.

Both men disappeared after the young hairstylist was found dead, authorities said. 

Residents were notified via email that Chicago police swept the property and were investigating motives in the killing, including whether it may have been a "domestic incident."

Contact Us