Ex-Northwestern professor's murder conviction overturned, case sent back to trial court

The murder conviction of a former Northwestern University professor who was sentenced to decades in prison for killing a boyfriend has been overturned because he was not allowed to consult with his lawyer during an overnight recess. An Illinois Appeals Court panel on Friday overturned Wyndham Lathem’s 2021 first-degree murder conviction. The panel ruled 3-0 that Lathem’s right to counsel was violated and remanded the case back to the trial court. Lathem was sentenced in 2022 to 53 years in prison in the 2017 stabbing death of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau. Andrew Warren, a British man who said he traveled to Chicago to commit the murder with Lathem, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.