Lab technician questioned over Yale student's murder

(AP)

Police searching for the killer of Annie Le, a Yale student found murdered on what was supposed to be her wedding day, have raided the home of a Yale University lab technician who is described as a "person of interest" in the case.

A dozen detectives and FBI officers searched the apartment of Raymond Clark, a 24-year-old animal research assistant at the campus medical building where Ms Le's bloodied body was discovered, in a basement wall cavity, on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Clark was arrested at 10.30pm on Tuesday, and photographed being led out of his home in handcuffs. He was questioned and released into the custody of his lawyer yesterday, after giving DNA samples. His DNA will be compared to roughly 150 pieces of evidence from the crime scene.

Local TV news bulletins claimed Mr Clark had an "unrequited love interest" in 24-year-old Ms Le, who went missing last week as she prepared for her marriage on nearby Long Island. One reported that he had failed a polygraph test related to an alibi. Mr Clark and Ms Le worked together in a highly secure area at the university. About 70 CCTV cameras are trained on the building, and access is controlled by identity cards.

The flat where Mr Clark was arrested is in Middletown, a 30-minute drive from the campus in New Haven, Connecticut. He shares it with his fiancée, Jennifer Hromadka, whom he is planning to marry in December 2011.

On their wedding website, discovered by the Associated Press, Ms Hromadka described her husband-to-be as, "a bit naive, doesn't always use the best judgement, definitly [sic] is not the best judge of character but, he is a good guy".

Even before the highly theatrical late-night arrest, Ms Le's murder has attracted huge public interest. Police are anxious to stress that Mr Clark is so far being treated as a "person of interest" rather than a formal suspect. "We are making sure there are not other possible suspects out there," said a spokesman. "We're going to narrow this down as quickly as we can."