Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
Murder in Midtown Atlanta: Prominent Cancer Researcher Eugenia Calle
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 9:24 pm
WSB TV news segment about the murder of Dr. Eugenia Calle.
Atlanta is no stranger to murder. Statistics say Atlanta is a little too familiar with violent crime. There are parts of the city where violence is a little less likely to strike. One of those places may well be the luxurious residential high-rise called Aqua, at the corner of 10th and West Peachtree, where home prices average in the $800,000 range.
So it was probably strange for any Aqua resident up around midnight on Tuesday to see Atlanta Police cruisers gathered in front of the building in a driving rain. Perhaps it was stranger still, and more frightening, to find out why they were there. Dr. Eugenia "Jeanne" Calle, a prominent 57-year-old cancer researcher who retired just last month from her position with the American Cancer Society, had been found dead in her condo on the 20th floor. Dr. Calle was murdered.
How did the woman her supervisor called "a major force in epidemiology" end up the victim of a brutal homicide?
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, here is what police know about the death of Dr. Calle:
[She] had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and that there was evidence of a struggle inside her upscale unit at the Aqua complex...
[...]
Calle's condo at Aqua is for sale, and Meadows said investigators were working to determine whether a person seen on security video visiting the condo on Tuesday was a potential buyer there to view the property.
Lt. Keith Meadows, commander of the Atlanta police homicide unit, said Calle's body was discovered about 11 p.m. Tuesday by her boyfriend, an Atlanta attorney whose name was not released.
At the moment, police don't know why Eugenia Calle was murdered.
They do have an idea as to when she died. Dr. Calle had been dead for up to 16 hours when she was found. She'd encountered her killer sometime Tuesday morning, roughly between 7 and 11 a.m.
Lt. Meadows also told reporters that Dr. Calle was "fully-clothed" when her boyfriend found her. Investigators are waiting on autopsy results to find out if the attack on Dr. Calle was sexually motivated.
Dr. Calle and her boyfriend were planning to marry.
According to police, the boyfriend has been cooperative and helpful.
The American Cancer Society and Eugenia Calle's former supervisor, Dr. Otis Brawley, issued a statement about her death:
Jeanne was one of the world's most respected epidemiologists, researching the causes of cancer, especially obesity and diet. She directed one of the largest and most comprehensive cohort studies in scientific history, the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study. She was a contributor to news stories, appearing on national programs including 60 Minutes. Jeanne brought a formidable intellect and passion for finding answers to cancer though her research. We are shocked and deeply saddened by the senseless loss of this tremendously talented friend and colleague.
Dr. Calle had been in the news as recently as February 4. She was interviewed for an article in USA Today titled, "Breast cancer risk drops after women stop hormone use." Otis Brawley told the AJC that indeed, some of Calle's best research work was to be published in the coming months.
Was Eugenia Calle the victim of a random crime? It seems unlikely, on the surface. Aqua appears to be a very secure high-rise. That said - it isn't that hard to put together a convincing deliveryman's costume. And there are numerous stories of people who fell victim to a would-be robber who was masquerading as a prospective home buyer.
There are more desperate people on the street than usual now. Eugenia Calle might have been an unexpected victim, but these days there are a few more unexpected criminals out there as well.
Some links relevant to Dr. Calle's work and past mentions in the press:
* Transcript of an April, 2003 interview with Calle on CNN (3/4 of the way down the page).
* Overview of the April, 2008 episode of 60 Minutes in which Lesley Stahl interviewed Eugenia Calle.
* New York Daily News article about breast-feeding and breast cancer risk, July, 2002.
This is a link to a real estate listing for a condo on the 20th floor at Aqua.
Also, from Dr. Len Lichtenfeld's "Cancer Blog":
Jeanne was more than a scientist. She was a friend to many, a valued colleague, and a committed mentor. She constantly challenged those she worked with to get to the truth, to refine and define their arguments, and always put science first and opinion second. There was never any question about her motivation: she was devoted to the pursuit of excellence in her work and those around her. Her goals were always much loftier than her personal concerns.
We have lost someone very special. Her death was tragic and needless, and defies explanation.
Tags: American Cancer Society, Aqua Midtown, Atlanta, Atlanta Police, Dr. Eugenia Calle, Jeanne Calle, Lt. Keith Meadows, unsolved homicide
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