Clark, who was an animal research technician at the time, will be sentenced to 44 years in prison as a result of his plea. Le was twenty-four at the time of her death and was just forty-eight hours away from her wedding day. Her body was found the day she was to walk down the aisle.
Clark's DNA was found on Le's clothing along with a green ink pen that had both Le's blood and more of Clark's DNA. It was the same green pen he used to sign into the lab the morning her body was found. She had been beaten, strangled and stuffed into a wall and evidence showed Clark had attempted to rape her.
Clark now has a fiancée who was with the rest of his family when they entered the courtroom on Thursday morning. His plea means there will be no trial. Many of Le's family members had voiced their willingness to accept a plea if it meant avoiding the ''dramatic, high profile trial''. It's also been reported other family members did not want the plea agreement and were hoping for a much stronger punishment. Clark was represented by a senior assistant public defender Beth A. Merkin. While Clark did not plead guilty to an attempt to commit sexual assault, it was entered under what's known as the Alford doctrine. The essence of this means that while he doesn't admit to it, he does agree that there is a strong likelihood that it could be proven.
Under the 44 year sentence agreement, Clark will not be eligible for parole and if he ever leaves prison, it will only be after he has served his sentence in its entirety. The district attorney says there are more than one thousand photographs and thousands of pages of police reports. Its likely Le's parents did not wish to witness those photos and other testimony.
Clark will be sentenced on May 20, 2011.
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