MIT Researcher Accused of Murdering Yale Grad Student Appears in Court

An MIT researcher accused of killing a Yale grad student he saw as a love rival has appeared in court over the murder.

Qinxuan Pan allegedly shot Kevin Jiang, after Jiang got engaged to MIT graduate Zion Perry—who Pan wanted to date himself, according to police. Jiang was shot multiple times on February 6, 2021, on a street close to the Yale campus in New Haven, Connecticut.

Pan and Zion had been friends, but investigators allege Pan had secretly carried a torch for her and became enraged when she accepted her boyfriend's proposal. Jiang was killed just days after the couple had posted their happy news online.

The trial was delayed for months amid requests for extensions and a competency examination for Pan by his attorneys, but Pan was ruled fit to stand trial. He has now finally appeared in court and was accused of Jiang's murder during a probable cause hearing on Monday. The hearing, to be held over the course of this week at the Chapel Street courthouse, will see the state try to convince State Superior Court Judge Jon Alander that there is enough evidence linking Pan to the murder. If successful, prosecutors will then proceed with the criminal case against Pan.

Prosecutors outlined the evidence they have gathered in the case. This includes video footage that partly captured the shooting from a neighbor's security camera, Jiang's autopsy report, and photographs of the murder scene. They also presented various witnesses who had encountered Pan that night.

Pan, who wore a yellow prison jumpsuit in court, listened intently to the proceedings, often scribbling down notes on a legal pad in front of him, according to the New Haven Independent.

Jiang's grieving mother was in court and wept throughout the hearing, the paper added. She later told the college paper Yale Daily News: "I hope to see justice soon." Jiang, who was an Army veteran from Washington state, was a second-year student in the forestry master's program at Yale's School of the Environment.

Pan, who had worked as an artificial intelligence researcher, had disappeared after the fatal shooting and was the subject of an arrest warrant on suspicion of murder and larceny for the theft of a car. He was eventually arrested in Alabama in May, after three months allegedly spent on the run. The 29-year-old was detained by U.S. Marshals in Montgomery.

The possible motive behind Jiang's murder was included in a detailed arrest warrant unsealed in court in June 2021. The 96-page document revealed Perry told authorities she and Pan had been friends and "never had a romantic or sexual relationship" but that "she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time." She accepted Jiang's proposal on January 30, and the couple shared their news the same day on Facebook. Her new fiancé was dead within a week.

Motive for the murder allegedly carried out by Pan was not discussed during Monday's court session.

The probable cause hearing continues.

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