Judge issues gag order in ex-professor's Chicago murder case

CHICAGO (AP) - Court records show that a judge has issued a gag order on attorneys in the case of a former Northwestern University professor and British man charged in a fatal stabbing in Chicago last summer.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Cook County Judge Charles Burns signed the order Feb. 14. There's been no discussion of the order during recent court hearings and the judge has given no public reason for why it's needed. The order prohibits lawyers and law enforcement from publicly expressing opinions about the case or discussing evidence and testimony.

Former Northwestern professor Wyndham Lathem and Oxford University employee Andrew Warren have pleaded not guilty in the July stabbing death of 26-year-old Trenton Cornell-Duranleau. The men are accused of attacking Cornell-Duranleau while he slept in Lathem's Chicago apartment, stabbing him dozens of times.

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com