Police: Michigan Man Slain In Chicago Stabbed Over 40 Times

CHICAGO (AP/WWJ) - Police say a Michigan man who was working as a hair stylist in Chicago was stabbed more than 40 times in a fatal attack last month in a high-rise condo

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Friday that 26-year-old Trenton James Cornell-Duranleau suffered "lacerations and mutilations to his body, his upper body, but not to the point of decapitation." He described the attack as "certainly very intense."

Cornell-Duranleau was stabbed to death on July 27. Fired Northwestern University microbiologist Wyndham Lathem, 42, and Oxford University financial officer Andrew Warren, 48, are accused of murder.

Authorities have said the attack on Cornell-Duranleau was so brutal that the blade of the knife believed to have been used in the stabbing was broken. When police found him at Lathem's high-rise apartment in an upscale neighborhood near downtown Chicago, he'd already been dead for at least 12 hours. They were alerted to his body after the building's front-desk received an anonymous call that a crime had been committed in the 10th floor apartment.

The case has involved peculiar twists, including a cash donation in the victim's name at a Wisconsin library and a videotaped confession sent to friends.

Guglielmi said police believe there might have been some tension in Lathem and Cornell-Duranleau's relationship.

"We've been looking a great deal, not only at the relationship between Dr. Lathem and the victim, but also the connection between all three," he said.

Guglielmi said Chicago police are investigating the backgrounds of all the men but won't be releasing details until they have questioned Lathem and Warren, who separately surrendered to California authorities last week. The pair had been on the run for eight days.

No motive has been released.

The day the crime was committed, police say Lathem and Warren drove about 80 miles northwest of Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where one made a $1,000 cash donation to the local library in Cornell-Duranleau's name. Lake Geneva authorities said the man making the donation didn't give his name.

Investigators said Lathem also sent a video to friends and relatives apologizing for his involvement in the crime, which he called the "biggest mistake of my life." The video raised concern among investigators that Lathem might kill himself. He's been under intense observation while in custody.

Lathem, 42, is being held without bail in Alameda County and has waived extradition to Chicago. His attorney has called him a "gentle soul." Northwestern University said Monday that they fired him effective Aug. 4.

Warren, a British national who arrived in the U.S. days before the killing, is expected to make his initial appearance in a California court Friday.

Cornell-Duranleau was born and raised in Michigan before moving to Chicago last year to make it as a hair stylist. His funeral is being held Saturday in Lennon, Michigan.

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.