CHICAGO _ As Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem sat in a California jail cell the day before his first court appearance, his Chicago-based attorney described Lathem's outlook as "hopeful."
Cook County authorities last Monday issued a warrant for Lathem's arrest in the death of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 26, who was found dead of multiple injuries in Lathem's apartment July 27.
On Friday, Lathem turned himself in at the Oakland, Calif., federal building. A second man charged in connection with Cornell-Duranleau's death, Andrew Warren, also turned himself in.
Just a few days before Cornell-Duranleau was found dead, Warren, an employee of Oxford University in England, had left his home in Oxfordshire and boarded a plane to the United States without telling his those close to him where he was going or why.
Cornell-Duranleau lived in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the Near Southwest Side, according to the medical examiner's office. He grew up in Michigan, according to public records. Cornell-Duranleau earned a state license as a cosmetologist in 2011, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Cornell-Duranleau's homicide and the subsequent manhunt for the suspects have drawn international attention.
"The police are investigating, and we are conducting our own investigation alongside them," said Lathem's lawyer, Adam Sheppard. "We hope his role in the matter, ultimately, will lead to innocence. We are conducting an investigation to reveal facts that possibly justify that."
Lathem has retained the father-son law firm of Barry and Adam Sheppard, Adam Sheppard said Sunday. The firm, which advertises as concentrating "in defense of serious sex offenses, drug offenses and white collar crimes," then reached out to professional acquaintance Kenneth Wine, who is to represent Lathem when he appears before an Alameda County judge at Monday morning.
It wasn't immediately clear when or where Warren was to appear. Sheppard said his firm does not represent Warren.
"They didn't surrender together, obviously, but we were not in contact with the other suspect at all, we're solely representing Wyndham," he said.
At the appearance, Lathem is expected to waive his right to an extradition hearing, meaning his lawyers don't intend to argue that he should be tried in California.
"He's not contesting his transport back to Chicago; he's not insisting on staying in California," Sheppard said. "We expect it to be a very brief hearing. He wants to continue in his vein of cooperation and come back here and face the charges."
Sheppard said Lathem has been cooperative ever since the charges were filed. He said "once the information became known, that authorities were asking him to surrender," and Lathem secured an attorney, the team got to work arranging his surrender.
"He was calm and surrendered without incident. He voluntarily surrendered, this is not a case where he was caught on the run at all," Sheppard said.
If the hearing goes as expected, Lathem could be back in Illinois by the end of the week. When extraditing suspects, authorities use a number of transportation options, which could include a bus, a train or in some cases, a plane. It is not known how Lathem could be transported. That will be based on how quickly authorities want to get him in front of a Cook County judge, Sheppard said.
Once here, he will have a bond hearing to determine whether he will be allowed to be released from jail while he awaits trial.
