Lee to retire as UNH professor
WEST HAVEN — Henry Lee, world-renowned forensic investigator and longtime professor at the University of New Haven, is retiring, but he’s not slowing down.
Lee, 81, who was involved in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson and the investigation into the death of JonBenét Ramsey, said Monday he will continue to teach and has three books and two movies in the works.
“It is with great admiration and appreciation that I share with you the news that Dr. Henry C. Lee, one of the foremost educators in the University of New Haven’s 100-year history, has announced that he will retire at the end of August, 2020,” UNH President Steven Kaplan wrote in an email Monday.
“Dr. Lee has indicated to me that he feels the time is right for him to take a step back to enable the University’s next generation of promising and talented faculty to step to the forefront. This is the type of incredibly thoughtful and humbling gesture that Henry has become known for throughout his distinguished tenure at the University.”
“If I retire, the younger faculty can continue. Meanwhile, I’m still helping students,” Lee said. “I have more freedom, so I’m going to probably spend a good portion of time traveling.”
Lee, who was born in China, grew up in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States in 1965, has taught at UNH since 1975. He founded the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science.
The university’s College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences is named for him, as well.
Lee was head of the state forensics laboratory and commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety. As a state police investigator, he helped prosecutors convict Richard Crafts for the murder of his wife, Helle Crafts. In what became known as the “woodchipper murder,” Richard Crafts was the first person in Connecticut convicted without finding the victim’s body.
In 2019, the state Supreme Court ruled Lee had given false testimony in a murder trial and ordered a new trial. The men, Shawn Henning and Ralph Birch, had served more than 30 years in prison. Two other claims of false testimony followed.
Lee defended himself, saying there was a misunderstanding of forensic science and that he should be able to review his notes when such claims are brought forward. He also proposed a review committee be set up when such claims are made.
He said his upcoming books, such as one on the deaths of Pocahontas, Russian czars and President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, will help support the institute’s work.
He also continues to travel. “Before coronavirus hit I was in Singapore, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh,” he said. The COVID-19 pandemic has kept him from trips to Russia, Austria and Australia. “I’m still working 16 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. He won’t take on any more investigations, however.
“In the U.S., a lot of high schools, colleges, want me to share my career, my life, to encourage them to develop a working ethic,” he said. Hard work has been his hallmark. “When I first came to the United States I had only $50, me and my wife didn’t speak English.”
His first wife, Margaret Lee, died in 2017 after 58 years of marriage. They have two sons and four grandchildren. Lee and his second wife, Angel Jiang, have co-written a fictionalized story focusing on the mass graves from the Bosnian war.
John DeCarlo, a professor of criminal justice at UNH, said, “I learned so much from Henry because he was really the epitome of what I had read as a kid,” about detectives such as Sherlock Holmes.
“He has always been a staunch advocate of equality,” DeCarlo said. “He has brought this wonderful view of the world and been an inspiration to his students because he looks at the world scientifically.
DeCarlo, who is a former Branford police chief, said Lee has always been “a part of everyday university life. … He’s really boots on the ground and a part of what the University of New Haven is.”
In his letter announcing his retirement, Lee wrote, “I have always considered myself first and foremost a teacher. And, as a teacher, reflecting on my many years at UNH, I believe that it is time for me to make room for the next generation of faculty to bring new ideas and innovation to that next group of students.”
Lee also wrote that he hoped his retirement “will play a small part in assisting UNH's effort to balance the Fall budget” in the wake of the COVID pandemic, but said that was not the reason for his retirement.
“It’s time for me to retire to give the younger people an opportunity,” he said.