Irish man pleads guilty to murder

Lee worked for the Police Department in what relatives said was her "dream job." She was a forensic investigator like the kind portrayed on the popular CSI television show, and worked in police forensic labs.

Police sources said that once they were sure McGurk was their leading suspect, they acted quickly to prevent him from fleeing to his home in Ireland.

In his statement to police, McGurk said he met Lee at the John Jay gym in 2004 and  they dated briefly before becoming "friends with benefits," he said.

"It got to the point that when she wasn't giving me the money back, I told her, 'You know I do have cancer and I need my money back,'" McGurk said in his statement, suggesting that he loaned her money.

McGurk said he last saw Lee around 2 a.m. on April 26, when she met him outside her apartment to explain she could not pay him back and they parted amicably, according to his statement.

"I got to her apartment door and she said she had company and said good night and walked off," he said.

After the murder Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said of Lee, "She was a very talented young woman. She was murdered in a very brutal way."

McGurk was suspected because he had "inconsistencies in his story," Kelly said, noting there was also forensic evidence implicating him.

McGurk's academic specialty at John Jay focused on psychology and legal issues. Forensic psychologists often evaluate individuals to determine whether they are competent to stand trial, and their potential for future dangerous behavior.

Chillingly, the department website lists two academic events that McGurk could have attended during the course of his studies: "Understanding and Preventing the Murder of Women in Intimate Relationships" and "The Interrogation and Torture Controversy."

McGurk's page on MySpace.com showed the accused killer said his mood was "blissful" a few days after Lee’s murder.

McGurk, who will be sentenced in June, faces up to 37 years in jail.

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Nster.com