Nearly 30 years after Yale senior Suzanne Jovin was stabbed to death following a Best Buddies holiday event on Dec. 4, 1998, her murder remains unsolved. Jovin, 21, was found at the corner of East Rock and Edgehill roads with 17 stab wounds and later pronounced dead at Yale‑New Haven Hospital. Retired detective Ed Kendall, who led the original investigation, is renewing appeals for witnesses. A $150,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Nearly 30 Years Later: Yale Student Suzanne Jovin’s Murder Remains Unsolved — Retired Detective Renews Plea
CT Division of Criminal JusticeSuzanne Jovin, 21
Nearly three decades after Yale senior Suzanne Jovin was fatally attacked following a Best Buddies holiday event on Dec. 4, 1998, her murder remains an open cold case. Jovin, 21, who was from Göttingen, Germany, and double‑majoring in Political Science and International Studies, had spent the evening organizing and driving participants of a Yale Best Buddies party before she disappeared.
Timeline and Case Details
On the night of Dec. 4, Jovin drove several program participants home in a university‑borrowed station wagon and returned to Trinity Lutheran Church on Orange Street to help clean up. At about 9:25 p.m., she met a classmate, Peter Stein, on Yale’s Old Campus and said she planned to return keys to Phelps Hall and then go home to her Park Street apartment. She did not mention any other plans.
A short time later, another student reported seeing Jovin walking on College Street toward Elm Street. At 9:58 p.m., she was found at the corner of East Rock and Edgehill roads, bleeding from multiple stab wounds. Police later reported she had been stabbed 17 times in the head and neck. Emergency responders transported her to Yale‑New Haven Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:26 p.m.
Investigation and Continuing Appeal
Local authorities launched an intensive investigation, but a suspect was never publicly identified. Retired New Haven Police sergeant and detective Ed Kendall, who led the original probe, continues to press for new leads and encourages anyone who remembers details — however small — to come forward. Kendall has held annual vigils at the site where Jovin was found and emphasizes that the case remains the only unsolved homicide in New Haven from 1998, a year that recorded 15 murders.
"It is not forgotten that Suzanne Jovin was stabbed 27 years ago," Kendall said on the anniversary of her death. He visits the site each year in hopes of securing justice for her and her loved ones.
Reward and How To Help
A combined reward of $150,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction: $50,000 from the State of Connecticut and $100,000 from Yale University. Authorities ask anyone with relevant information to call the confidential tip line at 1‑866‑623‑8058 or email jovin.case@ct.gov. Investigators stress that even seemingly insignificant memories or details may be crucial to resolving the case.
For those who knew her, Jovin is remembered as a vibrant, kind and intelligent young woman whose life and promise were tragically cut short. The renewed public appeal underscores a continuing effort to bring clarity and justice to a case that has haunted New Haven for decades.
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