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Murder of Kevin Jiang

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Murder of Kevin Jiang
LocationNew Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DateFebruary 6, 2021; 4 years ago (2021-02-06)
8:31 p.m. (UTC-5)
Attack type
Shooting
Weapons.45 calibre handgun
Deaths1
VictimKevin Jiang
PerpetratorQinxuan Pan
ConvictionsMurder

On February 6, 2021, 26-year-old Kevin Jiang, an American graduate student at Yale University, was murdered in New Haven, Connecticut, by 29-year-old Qinxuan Pan. Pan was arrested while in hiding after four months and in April 2024, he was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment at Cheshire Correctional Institution.[1]

The case generated substantial coverage due to the manhunt for Pan and was subject of an episode of 48 Hours in January 2025.[2]

Killing

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On the evening of February 6, 2021, Jiang left the apartment of his fiancée in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven. At around 8:30 p.m., Jiang's Toyota Prius was struck from behind by a black SUV, driven by Qinxuan Pan. The collision was not significant and after the SUV backed up, Jiang exited his vehicle to check on the other motorist. When he reached the driver's side, Jiang was shot twice by Pan, who then stepped out and fired six more shots at Jiang, who had collapsed to the ground. Jiang died of multiple gunshots to the face and torso. Emergency responders were unable to revive him.[3] Police first investigated the shooting as a random crime, potentially due to road rage, but later suspected a possible personal motive.[4][5]

Approximately 30 minutes after the murder, Pan drove into a scrap yard with his car and after being pursued by the facility's security guard, he became stuck on nearby railroad tracks due to a flat tire. Accidental trespassing by motorists was not uncommon since the open property was near the highway and as local officers were unaware of the murder, they did not detain him and arranged for towing assistance. Pan was driven to a Best Western hotel in Hamden, Connecticut, by police, after which he dumped a handgun and ten boxes of ammo in plastic bags outside of an adjacent Arby's restaurant. The items were reported the following day and quickly linked to Pan, but a search of the hotel found that Pan had left without using the room he paid for.[4][6] Pan was named as a suspect on February 10 and a warrant was issued for his arrest on February 26. New Haven Police considered Pan to be "armed and dangerous."[7] A reward of $5,000 for information that would contribute to Pan's arrest was issued by the U.S. Marshals Service, later increased to $10,000 on March 1.[8][9]

Investigation

[edit]

Pan was further tied to Jiang's murder by DNA on the ammo boxes and gun case, blood on clothes found inside the SUV and the vehicle's interior, as well as a partial imprint of a license plate, later found to have been stolen from another car, where Pan's car had bumped Jiang's vehicle. Forensic analysis showed that the pistol found along with the ammunition, a Ruger SR1911,[10] was not the murder weapon, which remains lost. No relationship was established between Jiang and Pan. Jiang's fiancée told investigators that she had befriended Pan at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and suspected that Pan may have been "interested" in her, but that they never had a romantic relationship.[11]

Manhunt

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A few days after the murder, Pan phoned his parents, Hong Huang and Hao Pan, and asked them to meet him in Connecticut, instructing them to bring money in cash. Pan subsequently drove their car to Atlanta, where he abruptly stopped near a highway and walked off. Both parents were questioned and denied knowing about Pan's involvement in a murder, but Pan's mother stated that she believed that her son had killed himself after leaving them. However, federal authorities monitored their bank accounts and took note of numerous withdraws in the following months, totalling to over $10,000.[12] On April 8, 2021, Interpol issued a Red Notice requesting[13] Pan's arrest and detention in reference to murder and larceny charges.[14] Pan's parents were monitored and recorded traveling to Connecticut and Georgia during spring 2021, with surveillance video at an electronics store in Marietta, Georgia, capturing footage of them along with an individual resembling Pan.[5][15][16]

On May 14, 2021, Pan was apprehended in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was living at a boarding house under the false name "Henry Choi". He was in possession of $19,000 cash, his father's passport, and seven cell phones. His bail was set at $20 million. Pan's parents were again investigated, but not charged.[17]

Victim

[edit]

Kevin Jiang (Chinese: 蒋凯文)[18] was born in Iowa City, Iowa,[19] on February 14, 1994, to Zhen "Linda" Liu and Mingchen Jiang, both originally from China.[20][21] The family is Baptist and were part of the Chinese bible churches in Oak Park, Illinois.[19] After his parents divorced, Jiang was raised by his mother in Chicago and became involved in church work after being bullied at school.[22] He attended North Seattle College and the University of Washington, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2016. Jiang served in the US Army National Guard as an environmental scientist, tank operator, engineering officer, attaining the rank of Second Lieutenant.[23][24] Since 2019, he was pursuing a master's degree in environmental science at Yale, where he volunteered at a homeless shelter and the Trinity Baptist Church. Jiang was due to graduate in mid-2021. On January 30, 2021, he became engaged to Zion Perry, a fellow Yale graduate student.[25]

Perpetrator

[edit]

Qinxuan Pan (Chinese: 潘勤轩)[26] was born in Shanghai on April 16, 1991, immigrated to the United States as a child, and was raised in Malden, Massachusetts. He holds U.S. citizenship.[27] He attended Thomas S. Wootton High School and in 2009, he represented the USA in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Bremen, Germany, where he won a silver medal.[28] Pan was a PhD candidate in computer science at MIT, and worked at the MIT CSAIL as an AI researcher. He was described as "genius", but socially withdrawn.[21][29]

Pan was later connected to a series of drive-by shootings in the same area between December 11, 2020 and February 6, 2021. Four homes were shot at, but no one was injured. At every scene, one to five .45 calibre casings were recovered. The final shooting had occurred an hour before Jiang's murder. In both the non-fatal shootings and Jiang's murder, Pan had used a 2013 GMC Terrain from a car dealership in Mansfield, Massachusetts, having taken it out for test drives each time and not returned it after the killing. Investigators stated that the drive-bys were meant to mislead police into believing that Jiang's murder was a random act of violence.[30][31][32][33]

Trial and sentencing

[edit]

The U.S. Marshals Service charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and interstate theft of a vehicle.[34] The trial was delayed to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

On December 9, 2022, Pan pled not guilty after Judge Jon Alander determined there was probable cause for the charges filed against him.[36]

On February 27, 2024, Pan pled guilty to the charges, and, as a part of his plea deal, faced up to 35 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole.[37] The prosecution did not disclose Pan's motive.[38] On April 23, 2024, Judge Gerald Harmon sentenced Pan to 35 years in prison.[39]

References

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  1. ^ Breen, Thomas (December 16, 2021). "Yale Murder Case Continued To February As Pan Seeks Evidence Access". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  2. ^ "'Ivy League Murder': CBS' 48 HOURS Reports On Slain Yale Grad Student". New Haven, CT Patch. 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  3. ^ Bass, Paul; Breen, Thomas (February 8, 2021). "Murdered Student May Have Been "Targeted"". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  4. ^ a b Steele, Emma (2025-01-26). "How an MIT graduate student planned a Yale student's near perfect murder - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  5. ^ a b Weiss, Murray (2025-01-26). "Yale grad student shot to death in what investigators feared was a perfect murder - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  6. ^ Hahamy, Julia Brown, Madison (2021-02-26). "Qinxuan Pan allegedly stole vehicle the day of Yale student's death". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2025-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Connecticut Supreme Court rules that man accused of killing Yale grad student can request a lower bond". WTNH.com. 2022-11-22. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  8. ^ Report, Staff (2021-02-11). "Reward offered in search for Qinxuan Pan; U.S. Marshals say he might be in Georgia". GreenwichTime. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  9. ^ Rateshtari, Roya (2021-03-03). "U.S. Marshals Expand Manhunt Nationwide for Murder Suspect Accused of Killing Yale Student | U.S. Marshals Service". www.usmarshals.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  10. ^ Breen, Thomas (July 13, 2021). "New Details Emerge On Why Cop Let Pan Go". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  11. ^ "Court Documents Reveal Kevin Jiang, Yale Student From Chicago, Was Shot Multiple Times At Close Range". CBS News. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  12. ^ Maag, Christopher (2024-03-01). "Former M.I.T. Student Pleads Guilty in 2021 Killing of Yale Student". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  13. ^ "Interpol: How We Work: Red Notices: View Red Notices". Interpol. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  14. ^ "Interpol warrant issued for suspect in Yale student's death". AP NEWS. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  15. ^ "Alleged Murderer's Parents Show Support". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  16. ^ "Judge Keeps Pan's Bond At $20M". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  17. ^ Murdock, Zach (May 20, 2021). "MIT researcher accused of killing Yale grad student Kevin Jiang held on $20 million bond after facing New Haven judge". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  18. ^ "26岁耶鲁华裔研究生遭枪杀3年后，嫌疑人首次认罪—新闻—科学网". ScienceNet. March 9, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Obituary: Kevin Jiang, 26, Of New Haven". New Haven, CT Patch. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  20. ^ ""He always wanted the best for other people": Fiancée of Yale grad student shot and killed in New Haven reflects on his positive impact". WTNH.com. 2021-02-09. Archived from the original on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  21. ^ a b Green, Anne-Marie; Weiss, Murray (2025-01-26). "Did a secret obsession lead an MIT "genius" to mastermind the murder of a Yale grad student? - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  22. ^ Lambert, Ben (2021-02-13). "'Love is the word' Kevin Jiang used most: Family and friends mourn his death at funeral". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  23. ^ "Arrest warrant issued for suspect in killing of National Guard officer and Yale student Kevin Jiang". Military Times. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  24. ^ Dennehy, Kevin (2021-02-09). "Kevin Jiang remembered as a person who would ask, 'How can I help?' | Yale News". news.yale.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  25. ^ Aman, Talat; Brown, Julia (2021-02-08). "'A gift from God': Yale community mourns loss of Kevin Jiang ENV '22". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  26. ^ Maag, Christopher (2024-03-04). "MIT华裔博士生承认杀害耶鲁华裔研究生". 纽约时报中文网 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  27. ^ "Connecticut State Department of Correction – Inmate Information – Pan, Qinxuan". Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  28. ^ "International Mathematical Olympiad – Individual Ranking – Qinxuan Pan". Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  29. ^ Hardaway, Liz (January 23, 2025). "Case of Yale student Kevin Jiang's homicide to be featured in '48 Hours' episode Saturday". CTPost.
  30. ^ "Man sentenced to 35 years for 2021 murder of Yale grad student". NBC Connecticut. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  31. ^ DiGiammerino, Thea (2021-06-11). "Court Documents Reveal New Details in Case Against MIT Student Suspected in Killing of Yale Student". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  32. ^ Lambert, Ben (June 11, 2021). "Affidavit: The guns, cars and DNA that led police to arrest Qinxuan Pan in slaying of Yale grad student". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  33. ^ Breen, Thomas (June 11, 2021). "Warrant Ties Pan To Other Local Shootings; North Haven Cops Ran Stole Plate". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  34. ^ Gold, Michael (2021-02-11). "A Yale Student Is Killed. An M.I.T. Student Is Wanted for Questioning". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  35. ^ Hughes, Charlotte (2022-03-04). "Qinxuan Pan murder trial further delayed again to April 5". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  36. ^ Hardaway, Liz; Backus, Lisa (2022-12-09). "Qinxuan Pan pleads not guilty after judge finds probable cause in Yale graduate student's homicide". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  37. ^ Maag, Christopher (2024-03-01). "Former M.I.T. Student Pleads Guilty in 2021 Killing of Yale Student". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  38. ^ Maag, Christopher (2024-03-01). "Former M.I.T. Student Pleads Guilty in 2021 Killing of Yale Student". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  39. ^ Staff (2024-04-24). "Qinxuan Pan Sentenced To 35 Years In Prison". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
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