Forensic scientist Henry Lee dies at 87

Washington, March 27 (CNA) Renowned forensic scientist and former Taipei city police captain Henry Lee (李昌鈺) died at 87 at his home in Henderson, Nevada, on Friday.

University of New Haven, where Lee served for decades as a distinguished professor, announced his passing in a statement issued with his family, saying he showed "remarkable strength, grace and resilience during a brief illness."

Born in Jiangsu Province, China, in 1938, Lee moved to Taiwan with his family around 1949.

He earned a bachelor's degree in police administration from Taiwan's Central Police College, now known as Central Police University, and later served in the Taipei City Police Department.

Lee emigrated to the United States with his late wife in 1964.

He received a bachelor's degree in forensic science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1972, followed by a master's degree and Ph.D. from New York University in 1974 and 1975, respectively.

He joined the University of New Haven in 1975 and founded the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science in 1998.

Lee provided forensic services in all 50 U.S. states and more than 46 countries, and lectured in over 70 countries, according to the university.

According to the university, Lee testified in many high-profile criminal cases, including the O.J. Simpson murder case, while providing forensics assistance to other prominent cases such as the 9/11 investigation and the reinvestigation of the John F. Kennedy assassination.

In Taiwan, Lee took part in the investigation of the March 19 shooting incident, an assassination attempt on then-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and then-Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) during a reelection campaign event in Tainan.

Both were wounded but survived, and the case reached no definitive conclusion.

In 2023, a U.S. federal court found Lee liable for fabricating evidence in a murder case that led to the wrongful imprisonment of two Connecticut teenagers for decades.

The state later reached a US$25.2 million settlement with the two men.