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Killing of Suzanne Jovin

COLD1998Edgehill Road and East Rock Road, New Haven, Connecticut3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the evening of December 4, 1998, Suzanne Nahuela Jovin, a 21-year-old Yale University senior majoring in international studies and political science, was found stabbed 17 times in the back of her head and neck, with her throat slit, at the corner of Edgehill Road and East Rock Road in New Haven, Connecticut — nearly two miles from the Yale campus where she was last seen alive. A 911 call reporting a bleeding woman came in at 9:55 p.m.; police arrived at 9:58 p.m. She was pronounced dead at Yale New Haven Hospital at 10:26 p.m. She was found fully clothed, still wearing her watch and earrings, with a crumpled dollar bill in her pocket; her wallet was later found in her room.

Earlier that evening, Jovin had helped run a pizza-making party for the local chapter of Best Buddies, dropped off a draft of her senior essay, returned a borrowed university car, and sent a final email to a friend about lending GRE study materials to an unidentified person. She was last confirmed seen by a classmate around 9:22 p.m. near Yale's Old Campus, and possibly seen again minutes later walking on College Street. How she came to be nearly two miles away within roughly half an hour has never been explained, and no witness has been reported seeing her enter a vehicle.

Physical evidence includes DNA recovered from scrapings under Jovin's fingernails, an unidentified partial palmprint on a Fresca bottle found near the body, and the tip of the knife used in the attack, which was lodged in her skull. Investigators also gathered witness accounts of a tan or brown van stopped near the scene and a man seen running from the area shortly after the killing, later referred to in coverage as "the running man" or "Billy."

Four days after the murder, the name of Jovin's thesis adviser, James Van de Velde, was leaked to a local newspaper as a suspect. A New Haven Police Department sergeant later stated there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime. Yale canceled Van de Velde's classes, and he was never charged. Private investigators hired by Yale, and testing of the fingernail DNA and palmprint, found no match to Van de Velde. In 2013, the City of New Haven and Yale reached a monetary settlement with Van de Velde over his federal civil-rights lawsuit, and a state's attorney publicly confirmed he was no longer a suspect.

The investigation was formally classified a cold case in 2006 and has since moved between New Haven police and Connecticut's Cold Case Unit. In 2009, DNA under Jovin's fingernail was matched to a state forensics lab technician, indicating contamination rather than a suspect lead. A 2017 Freedom of Information Commission ruling denied release of investigative records, citing an ongoing prospective prosecution and noting that touch DNA testing, renewed FBI involvement, and witness re-interviews were underway. As of the available reporting, the killing of Suzanne Jovin remains unsolved, and New Haven and Yale have jointly offered $150,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Key facts

Victims
Suzanne Jovin
Date
1998
Location
Edgehill Road and East Rock Road, New Haven, Connecticut
Case status
cold

Case timeline

  1. 1977-01-26

    Suzanne Nahuela Jovin is born in Göttingen, West Germany.

  2. 1998-12-04

    Jovin helps run a Best Buddies pizza party, returns a borrowed car, sends a final email, and is later found stabbed at Edgehill Road and East Rock Road in New Haven; she is pronounced dead at Yale New Haven Hospital.

  3. 1998-12-08

    The name of Jovin's thesis adviser, James Van de Velde, is leaked to the New Haven Register as a suspect, four days after the murder.

  4. 2000-12

    Yale hires private investigators Andrew Rosenzweig and Patrick Harnett to review the case.

  5. 2001-04-01

    Hartford Courant reporter Les Gura reveals existence of the Fresca bottle with an unidentified palmprint.

  6. 2001-10-26

    New Haven police publicly disclose the existence of fingernail DNA evidence and solicit voluntary samples.

  7. 2001-11-08

    New Haven Register reports NHPD had impounded a brown van as part of the investigation.

  8. 2001-12-07

    Van de Velde sues the New Haven Police Department in federal court alleging civil rights violations.

  9. 2004-03-15

    Federal judge dismisses Van de Velde's federal claims with prejudice and state claims without prejudice.

  10. 2006-09-01

    The Jovin investigation is officially classified a cold case and moved to Connecticut's Cold Case Unit.

  11. 2007-11-29

    Assistant State's Attorney James Clark reveals the case had been secretly reassigned to a New Haven detective team.

  12. 2007-12-11

    Judge Robert N. Chatigny reinstates Van de Velde's state and federal claims.

  13. 2008-06

    Jovin Task Force reveals a withheld 1998 witness account of a man seen running near the scene.

  14. 2009-11

    Fingernail DNA is determined to match a state forensics lab technician, indicating lab contamination.

  15. 2012-12-08

    Area residents present the Jovin Task Force with a potential lead involving a former Yale graduate student who died by suicide; the Task Force declines to pursue it.

  16. 2013-06-03

    New Haven and Yale reach a monetary settlement with Van de Velde; a state's attorney confirms he is no longer a suspect.

  17. 2017-09-01

    Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission denies a request for investigative records, citing a prospective prosecution.

  18. 2019-12-27

    Blogger Jeffrey Mitchell releases the documentary The Green Jacket Killer about the case.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Suzanne Jovin

    VICTIM

    21-year-old Yale University senior stabbed to death in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 4, 1998.

  • James Van de Velde

    ACQUITTED

    Yale lecturer and Jovin's thesis adviser publicly named as a suspect days after the murder; no physical evidence ever linked him to the crime, and a state's attorney publicly confirmed in 2013 he is no longer a suspect.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Edgehill Road and East Rock Road, New Haven, Connecticut

41.3199, -72.9128

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Suzanne Jovin, a 21-year-old Yale University senior, was fatally stabbed off campus in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 4, 1998. The case remains unsolved despite a decades-long investigation.
Where did the killing happen?
Edgehill Road and East Rock Road, New Haven, Connecticut.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: cold. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Connecticut

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICKilling of Suzanne JovinWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — ct.govct.gov · 2026-07-05
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — portal.ct.govportal.ct.gov · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 05, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 05, 2026