Henry Lee, famed forensic scientist who testified in the OJ Simpson trial, dies at 87
Henry Lee, the famous forensic pathologist who helped put modern crime scene investigation into the spotlight through his involvement in high-profile cases like the OJ Simpson murder trial, has died. He was 87 years old.
Lee “passed away peacefully” Friday at his home in Henderson, Nevada, following a brief illness, according to a statement from his family and the University of New Haven, where he taught for more than 50 years.
Lee rose to fame after his testimony at Simpson’s trial in 1995, during which he questioned the handling of blood evidence. He has also served as a consultant in other well-known investigations, including the 1996 murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado; the 2004 murder trial of Scott Peterson, accused of killing his pregnant wife, Laci; and the 2007 murder trial of record producer Phil Spector.
But Lee’s work gained attention in his later years, with a 2023 federal court ruling finding him responsible for fabricating evidence in a 1985 murder case that sent two Connecticut men to prison for decades.
Born in China, the 11th of 13 children, Lee and his family moved to Taiwan where he earned a degree in police administration and became a police officer and then captain. He and his late wife moved to the United States in 1964, where he earned advanced degrees in forensic science and biochemistry.
He first became known for his work in Connecticut investigating the 1986 disappearance of flight attendant Helle Crafts – using tiny bone fragments, the tip of a thumb, a crown of a tooth and pieces of hair found near her home to help authorities prove that Craft’s husband had cut up her body and thrown it into a wood chipper. Prosecutors were able to secure a conviction despite the lack of a body.
“Sometimes they compare me to Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan. They’re just fictional characters,” Lee was quoted as saying in a 2000 article, as he was resigning as Connecticut State Police commissioner. “In real life, scientists, detectives and the public have to work together. … We don’t have commercial breaks.”
Lee continued to work on high-profile cases, but in 2020 a state judge overturned the 1985 murder convictions of two men who had been convicted based in part on testimony that Lee said at the time were bloodstains on a napkin. Tests conducted after the trial, as the men appealed their convictions, showed the stains were not blood.
In 2023, a federal judge ruled that there was no evidence to support Lee’s testimony. Lee defended his reputation and his work, denying fabricating evidence and suggesting that traces of blood could have decayed in the 20 years between the crime and the time defense experts tested the towel.
Lee ultimately spent much of his career in Connecticut, including as head of the state’s forensic laboratory. At the University of New Haven, he helped grow its forensics program from a simple fingerprint kit to a multidisciplinary academic department. Lee later helped found a forensic institute in his name at the school to train and provide consultation to forensic and criminal justice professionals.
“Dr. Lee was a remarkable person,” University of New Haven President Jens Frederiksen said in a statement. “His contributions to our university and to forensic science and law enforcement are extraordinary and unmatched. His legacy lives on in the generations of students and law enforcement professionals he influenced throughout his distinguished career.”
The author or co-author of more than 40 books, Lee was finalizing a book on missing persons investigations in his final days, according to the university press release. It is still expected to be published.
