Chicago

Former Northwestern Professor Charged in Grisly River North Murder to Appear in Court

A former Northwestern University professor charged in the gruesome 2017 stabbing death of his boyfriend in Chicago was expected to appear in court Tuesday. 

Wyndham Lathem is facing first-degree murder charges in the death of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, whose body was discovered in Lathem's River North apartment in August 2017. He had been stabbed dozens of times.

Police launched a manhunt for Lathem and former Oxford University employee Andrew Warren after authorities found Cornell-Duranleau's body. Days later, the two men surrendered to authorities in California. 

Warren was scheduled to go on trial next week but attorneys announced at a Monday court hearing that he has agreed to a plea deal.

Warren has pleaded guilty in a deal that calls for him to testify against Lathem in exchange for a 45-year-prison sentence.

Authorities said Warren admitted that the two met on the internet and communicated about their shared fantasy for several months before Lathem paid for him to come to Chicago from England in late July.

After Warren arrived in Chicago, the men "discussed who they would kill and when," authorities said, settling on Cornell-Duranleau, who was Lathem’s boyfriend, to be their first victim. 

Prosecutors allege that the men ultimately planned to kill one another – with Warren shooting Lathem as he stabbed him – after committing several murders.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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