GUILTY NY - Michelle Lee, 24, NYPD criminologist, brutally murdered, 27 April 2009

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gaia227 said:
She went to the gym the night it is speculated she died. Most people in NYC choose a gym near their work or apartment and will just walk instead of having to take transit or cab. Sunnyside Queens is a nice neighborhood - I have friends who live there. I am pretty convinced it is someone who knows Michelle but on the off chance it wasn't she could have been followed or maybe she had someone at the gym who had an unhealthy obsession with her.
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Maybe someone got to her house key while she was working out.
 
txsvicki said:
Maybe someone got to her house key while she was working out.
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That's a good thought, but I would think there would still be signs of a struggle.

The article states that after she worked out, she called a co-worker. Wonder if she was inviting he/she over?
 
Very informative articles! Thanks for posting them!

They raise more questions:

Where was the clothing iron? Had it been left out or did the attacker have to find it in a cabinet/closet? Was she ironing at the time of her attack? Did the attacker have to find it, plug it in, wait for it to get hot, and then burn her? Was she burned before or after she died?

Did the knife come from inside the apartment or did the killer bring it to the scene? If the knife was Michelle's, then it means the killer had to get it from the kitchen at some point. Was it in a drawer, sink, or on the counter in view?

Being stabbed in the throat with the knife left in the wound is significant, imo. This could mean the killer either didn't want her to tell something or perhaps she already had said things which enraged him/her. The simple word "No" could have set someone off (stalker type).

The girls had only lived there for a month. Being new to the area they would probably not know neighbors or others well enough to invite them into the apartment unless someone were pretending to need help in some way to get inside. The text to the co-worker is interesting on Saturday.

Michelle was bound, bludgeoned, stabbed, burned, raped (?), and left nude to be found which further humiliates her. Definite overkill. Unless they find semen or male DNA...they need to look for motives from both sexes.

Investigators said Lee was stabbed in the neck and suffered a head wound. A kitchen knife was found near the bed. Cops believe she had been hit in the head with a clothing iron.

Sources said Lee was completely naked and tied to the bed. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing seemed to be missing, sources said. Nor were there any signs of a struggle, they added.

Neighbors said the women had lived in the apartment for only about a month.

The roommate, who also works in the crime lab, had been away for the weekend and returned Sunday night. She went to sleep that night in a room just yards away from the body, authorities said.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04282009/news/regionalnews/sex_slay_shocker_166555.htm

Second Article. The two articles are conflicting about the knife:

Investigators believe Michelle Lee was knocked unconscious with the iron, bound to her bed with the cord of a cell phone charger and then stabbed in the throat with a kitchen knife.

~snip~

Detectives are also fingerprinting the knife that was left in her throat.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...riminalist_michelle_lee_was_burned_with_.html
 
Wow SS. Excellent post and excellent questions. I had not thought that deep into everything.

If all of the items and weapons used came from inside Michelle's home, it leads me to believe this was not a planned attack and more of a "spur of the moment" fit of rage. So if that is the case, the killer probably didn't take precautions early on. This should then be an easy case to solve. I bet there are finger prints everywhere.

Do we know what she was bound with? I am wondering if it was something from the home or something the killer brought with them. If it's something the killer brought with them, my theory goes out the window.
 
Looks like she was bound with the cord from a cell phone charger.
 
If she had only lived there a month maybe someone with an old key got in. Sometimes they don't change the locks on apartments when they rent them out.
 
It is entirely possible, Colette. Or maybe someone with a master key which would include the Building Super and Maintenence crew.

Do LE and Fire Depts have some type of master key for entry into places?

If I were guessing, Elle's mom...I would say the knife probably did come from her own kitchen which would tend to bolster your theory. It may not show a total lack of premeditation, but crime of opportunity included.

I think the person must have known the roomate was gone and not due home any minute. Taking time to do all those things says the killer was comfortable with not getting caught by the roomate or anyone else. (If LE hasn't really cleared the roomate...she needs to looked at much closer.)
 
amandab said:
Looks like she was bound with the cord from a cell phone charger.
Click to expand...

Thanks. You are right. For some reason I thought I read earlier that she was strangled with the charger cord. I was thinking she was bound with something else. I am probably following too many cases at once.
 
Such an over kill, brutal.............way to scarey!
Sounds alittle like the anchor woman beaten in her bed.
 
SeriouslySearching said:
Very informative articles! Thanks for posting them!

They raise more questions:

Where was the clothing iron? Had it been left out or did the attacker have to find it in a cabinet/closet? Was she ironing at the time of her attack? Did the attacker have to find it, plug it in, wait for it to get hot, and then burn her? Was she burned before or after she died?

Did the knife come from inside the apartment or did the killer bring it to the scene? If the knife was Michelle's, then it means the killer had to get it from the kitchen at some point. Was it in a drawer, sink, or on the counter in view?

Being stabbed in the throat with the knife left in the wound is significant, imo. This could mean the killer either didn't want her to tell something or perhaps she already had said things which enraged him/her. The simple word "No" could have set someone off (stalker type).

The girls had only lived there for a month. Being new to the area they would probably not know neighbors or others well enough to invite them into the apartment unless someone were pretending to need help in some way to get inside. The text to the co-worker is interesting on Saturday.

Michelle was bound, bludgeoned, stabbed, burned, raped (?), and left nude to be found which further humiliates her. Definite overkill. Unless they find semen or male DNA...they need to look for motives from both sexes.

Investigators said Lee was stabbed in the neck and suffered a head wound. A kitchen knife was found near the bed. Cops believe she had been hit in the head with a clothing iron.

Sources said Lee was completely naked and tied to the bed. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing seemed to be missing, sources said. Nor were there any signs of a struggle, they added.

Neighbors said the women had lived in the apartment for only about a month.

The roommate, who also works in the crime lab, had been away for the weekend and returned Sunday night. She went to sleep that night in a room just yards away from the body, authorities said.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04282009/news/regionalnews/sex_slay_shocker_166555.htm

Second Article. The two articles are conflicting about the knife:

Investigators believe Michelle Lee was knocked unconscious with the iron, bound to her bed with the cord of a cell phone charger and then stabbed in the throat with a kitchen knife.

~snip~

Detectives are also fingerprinting the knife that was left in her throat.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...riminalist_michelle_lee_was_burned_with_.html
Click to expand...


Not snipping your post, SS, as it's a darn good guide for questions that need answering. Thanks.

Also, in your last post you wrote "(If LE hasn't really cleared the roomate...she needs to looked at much closer.)"

Could not agree more.
 
Does anyone know (provide a link) to what the text message said? I read the article that stated she had sent a text message but, did not read anything about it's contents.

Thanks in advance for any info.
Ruflossn
 
ella's mom said:
Wow SS. Excellent post and excellent questions. I had not thought that deep into everything.

If all of the items and weapons used came from inside Michelle's home, it leads me to believe this was not a planned attack and more of a "spur of the moment" fit of rage. So if that is the case, the killer probably didn't take precautions early on. This should then be an easy case to solve. I bet there are finger prints everywhere.

Do we know what she was bound with? I am wondering if it was something from the home or something the killer brought with them. If it's something the killer brought with them, my theory goes out the window.
Click to expand...
[my bold]

I know a good sleuth should keep an open mind but between my own thoughts, SS posts and yours, ella's mom....am finding it hard to get past the roommate being killer.

imo The iron aspect lends to your ""spur of the moment" fit of rage" theory.
 
This case has really bothered me. Here are my thoughts.

I think the person who killed Ms. Lee will be male. They will have been acquaintances. Meaning, they have made eye content,, acknowledged each other etc..... I do not think they will have known each other well.

No signs of forced entry -
1) The killer may have access to a key. He would have been in the residence and surprised Ms. Lee w/ the iron. Rendering her unconscious. Took her to the bedroom, bound her, and began his murderous rampage.

2) The killer gave Ms. Lee a "sob story" and she allowed him into her personal residence. If this is the case, Ms. Lee had to know the perp. There is no way a NYC Criminologist would let a stranger into her home.

I think this perp. will follow a lot of the Disorganized Offender traits. He will have a criminal history, blue collar worker, and will have hopefully left DNA at the crime scene. Definite overkill. Why? Did she regain consciousness and attempt to escape the bindings? Did she fight back w/ words? Did she bite him? Did he get so mad that he lost what little control he had and overkill became his objective? Albeit, maybe an unacknowledged objective?

I may be totally wrong w/ my theories. I hope in time we will tell know what happened to this young lady. It was a terrible way to die and I hope they catch the creep who did this so no one will have to suffer like Ms. Lee did.
 
ella's mom said:
My first thought was the roommate too. But it looks like LE cleared the roommate pretty quickly based on the fact that she wasn't home over the weekend (pretty sure that is what I read). I am assuming she had a pretty good alibi.

JMO
Click to expand...

Thanks ella's mom, and gaia, too--I guess we have to have faith that LE took a good look at the roommate, she had a solid alibi, and she did get cleared. It sure does seem odd that she didn't notice anything right away, though.
 
The killer could have gotten a key and already been inside or talked his way into the kitchen where the knife was used to threaten until binding the poor girl.
 
Ruflossn said:
This case has really bothered me. Here are my thoughts.

I think the person who killed Ms. Lee will be male. They will have been acquaintances. Meaning, they have made eye content,, acknowledged each other etc..... I do not think they will have known each other well.

No signs of forced entry -
1) The killer may have access to a key. He would have been in the residence and surprised Ms. Lee w/ the iron. Rendering her unconscious. Took her to the bedroom, bound her, and began his murderous rampage.

2) The killer gave Ms. Lee a "sob story" and she allowed him into her personal residence. If this is the case, Ms. Lee had to know the perp. There is no way a NYC Criminologist would let a stranger into her home.

I think this perp. will follow a lot of the Disorganized Offender traits. He will have a criminal history, blue collar worker, and will have hopefully left DNA at the crime scene. Definite overkill. Why? Did she regain consciousness and attempt to escape the bindings? Did she fight back w/ words? Did she bite him? Did he get so mad that he lost what little control he had and overkill became his objective? Albeit, maybe an unacknowledged objective?

I may be totally wrong w/ my theories. I hope in time we will tell know what happened to this young lady. It was a terrible way to die and I hope they catch the creep who did this so no one will have to suffer like Ms. Lee did.
Click to expand...

It definitely was overkill, and why? The burn marks are very unusual (to me anyway) and don't seem like something a man would do. But from reading this site, I realize anything can happen these days (as in the Sandra Cantu case). It sounds like it was really horrible, torturous.
I wonder if she was targeted because of something related to her job?
 
I wonder what kind of person Michelle was. Was she the kind to not lock her apartment door, for instance? If that's the case, it's maybe possible that someone followed her home (from the gym, for instance) and let himself into her apartment because she didn't lock it..thus, there wouldn't be any signs of forced entry. I'm just wondering if she was the type of person who wouldn't often lock her doors.
 
Columbo said:
Thanks ella's mom, and gaia, too--I guess we have to have faith that LE took a good look at the roommate, she had a solid alibi, and she did get cleared. It sure does seem odd that she didn't notice anything right away, though.
Click to expand...


I wonder if the roommate didn't get home late and having to work the next day she just came into the apt and headed right to her bedroom without taking in anything in the rooms leading to her bedroom. She did notice that her friend's door was open a little but didn't think anything of it. Didn't LE say there was no sign of a struggle? So there is the possibility that nothing was out of order in the rooms leading to her bedroom. Can you imagine how that poor girl felt when she went to wake up her friend and found her in that horrible condition!
 
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