Watch CBS News

Court Documents Reveal Kevin Jiang, Yale Student From Chicago, Was Shot Multiple Times At Close Range

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Newly released court documents shed light on the murder of Yale grad student Kevin Jiang, who grew up in the Chicago area.

Police released the arrest warrant for 30-year-old Qinxuan Pan, who is charged with murder in Jiang's death. Pan is being held on $20 million bail.

Pan was arrested in Alabama last month, following a three-month-long search.

The warrant shows Jiang was shot in the face and body multiple times at close range. It also said Pan rammed his SUV into Jiang's car before the shooting.

Jiang had become engaged shortly before his death. His fiancée told police she and Pan were friends at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she thought Pan had a crush on her, but they never had a romantic relationship.

Jiang was found dead on Feb. 6 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Arrest warrant and search warrants in the case outlined that Jiang, 26, had just left the apartment of his fiancée, Zion Perry, after a day of fishing. She told authorities that she heard gunshots but didn't think of Jiang because she assumed he had already left the area.

In the documents, authorities said audio and video surveillance records showed Jiang getting out of his car after what sounded like a collision and approaching a vehicle behind him. Then the sounds of gunshots is audible.

The warrants also include authorities saying a short time later, police in nearby North Haven had to tow a car from railroad tracks where it had gotten stuck. The driver was Pan, who told them the car was a rental but couldn't produce any documentation.

Authorities said he disappeared after being taken to a motel, which police discovered when they went to find him the next day. They had gone looking for him after workers at a restaurant next door reported finding a bag with a gun, ammunition, license plates and a briefcase outside. One of the officers recognized the bags as having been in Pan's car the day before.

An analysis by authorities determined that bullet casings found near Jiang's body were not connected to the gun recovered by restaurant workers.

Investigators discovered that Pan and Perry were connected on social media, and had met while at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where both had graduated from and Pan was working as a researcher.

According to the documents, Perry told authorities "they never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they were just friends, but she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time."

The documents did not outline how authorities found Pan in Alabama, where prosecutors said he had rented an apartment under a false name, and was found with $19,000 in cash, his father's passport and several cellphones.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.