Arrest made in Jan. murder of Hopkins student
Trinh found dead in Charles Village apartment; Police say DNA evidence links suspect, 27, to killing; On campus, a mix of relief, lingering security concerns
Baltimore City police today announced an arrest in the murder of Linda Trinh, the Johns Hopkins University student whose body was found Jan. 23 in her Charles Village apartment.
The slaying -- the second in the Hopkins community in nine months -- stunned students and administrators and prompted university President William R. Brody to announce tighter security around the high-rise apartment building where the 21-year-old biomedical engineering major from Silver Spring was found dead. She lived with two roommates in a second-floor apartment in The Charles at 3333 N. Charles St.
Police spokesman Matt Jablow said a 27-year-old man was arrested this morning without incident at his Baltimore home less than a mile from the Hopkins campus. The suspect was identified as Donta M. Allen.
Authorities said Trinh and her sorority sisters knew Allen, who was not a student or a school employee.
"He was readily accepted in the community and had access to the building where Miss Trinh and her fellow sorority sisters live," Maj. Richard Fahlteich said.
He added that police had DNA evidence linking Allen to the crime.
"The DNA evidence says clearly, unequivocally, categorically that Mr. Allen is our suspect," he said.
Authorities have said the killing by asphyxiation appeared to be one of "opportunity," but Fahlteich said the motive remained unclear.
"Probably, like many, many, many crimes -- this is assumption based upon some information -- people commit a heinous crime and then they want to cover it up because they don't want to be caught," Fahlteich said.
While authorities don't have a motive for the crime, the arrest brought relief to Brody.
"I was concerned, as many of the students were, that we might have a killer running in our midst," he said at an afternoon news conference announcing the arrest.
Security at the sprawling North Baltimore campus has been tightened since Trinh's murder, Brody said. A guard was stationed around the clock at The Charles, and city police stepped up patrols in the area, he said.
Hopkins students expressed a mix of relief and sense of closure over Allen's arrest as well, but also lingering concerns about the level of security around the campus.
"She [Trinh] was one of my friends. [The arrest is] the one good thing that happened today," senior Andy Jeng said. "I'm just relieved. ... I think students on campus were just losing faith in the police department. It still doesn't address security issues, but it does give a sense of closure.
"She was such a sweet girl. Something like this should never happen. I definitely want to see that guy get the maximum punishment for what he did."
Said freshman Andrea Dodrill: "This last month, everything has been a mystery -- the school hasn't really talked about it. I'm just relieved to know someone's in custody."
Still, her relief was tempered by a wariness over the effectiveness of the recent security upgrades.
"I see them [the security guards] around," she said. "I don't know how effective they are. With things like this, you don't really know if measures are working until something else happens. ... I don't feel any safer because I have guys in orange suits running around."
Senior Katie Chunka, who lives in the complex where Trinh was killed, said news of the arrest "thrilled" her.
"I'm really excited about it. ... That'll definitely bring about some sense of resolution," she said.
Citing the extra security, Chunka said she has felt safe at The Charles since Trinh's murder, but "I did get another lock for my door. I'm just extra precautious."
It was still unclear exactly what happened in Trinh's apartment before her death.
One of Trinh's roommates found her lying unconscious about noon Jan. 23 and called police. The roommate had just returned from her job as a waitress. Her other roommate was away on vacation. The murder occurred just as spring semester began, with many students still away on winter break.
Trinh was pronounced dead at the scene, and her death was ruled "suspicious," as there was no immediate evidence of foul play, police said.
However, after conducting an autopsy and determining that the cause of death was asphyxiation, the state medical examiner's office ruled Trinh's death a homicide.
Fahlteich still wasn't sure whether the suspect forced his way into her apartment or was invited inside; however, he said he doubted she would have let him in willingly because she was alone at the time.
Fahlteich said police conducted hundreds of interviews and worked in several states while investigating the case. He said Allen had a police record for possession of a controlled dangerous substance and malicious destruction of property.
"On behalf of all the citizens of Baltimore, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Trinh family," Mayor Martin O'Malley said in a written statement. "Although nothing can alleviate the grief or replace the loss of such a bright and beautiful daughter and sister, I hope that today's arrest will offer some degree of closure for her family."
Hopkins student Christopher Elser, a 20-year-old from Camden, S.C., was stabbed to death April 17, 2004, in what police have described as a random act of violence by an intruder inside an apartment house that had been rented to members of his fraternity. That crime happened about six blocks from Trinh's apartment.
There have been no arrests in that case, a fact not lost on some Hopkins students.
Before today, the Trinh case "seemed like ... it was just another Elser case," said Jeng.
Said junior Alice Li, a biomedical engineering classmate of Trinh's: "When [her murder] was first reported, it seemed like they had an idea who it was. Then, it wasn't in the news anymore ... like, they're never going to find Chris' killer."
While pleased with today's arrest, junior Alexandra Lambert expressed concern over what the murders may have done to Hopkins' reputation.
"I honestly thought they knew more, and that they'd catch him sooner. I was just horrified because I knew Chris, too," Lambert said. " ... I'm also sad for the school. I feel like people give Hopkins such a bad rap, when in fact this does happen at other schools."
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