The Chilling Truth Behind Why an MIT Researcher Killed a Yale Student
What seemed like a random act of road rage turned out to be something far more chilling. When Yale graduate student and U.S. Army veteran Kevin Jiang was shot to death in 2021, investigators were initially stumped. But as they followed a trail of seemingly disconnected events, they uncovered a disturbing motive — one rooted in obsession and jealousy that had gone unnoticed for years.
A Targeted Attack Disguised as Road Rage
On Feb. 6, 2021, 26-year-old Kevin Jiang spent the day with his fiancée, Zion Perry, hiking, ice fishing, and having dinner at her home in New Haven's East Rock neighborhood. Around 8:30 p.m., he left in his Prius to return home.
Just two blocks away, Jiang's car was rear-ended by a dark SUV in what appeared to be a minor accident. As he stepped out — likely to check on the other driver and exchange insurance information — he was shot eight times at close range. Some bullets were fired with such proximity that gunpowder burns were found on his face.
The First Break in the Case
Surveillance footage captured a dark SUV speeding away from the scene, but police had no suspect. However, North Haven officers received a 911 call just 30 minutes later from a driver whose SUV had gotten stuck on railroad tracks. That driver was Qinxuan Pan, an MIT researcher. At the time, officers were unaware of Jiang's murder and simply helped Pan get a tow and a hotel room.
The next day, an Arby's employee near Pan's hotel found a bag containing a gun and a box of .45 caliber bullets, the same caliber found next to Jaing's body, and called the police. Still, these events weren't immediately connected to Jiang's murder. It wasn't until Sgt. Jeffrey Mills from North Haven police flagged Pan's name that detectives in New Haven realized they might have their suspect.
An Obsession Revealed
Investigators dug into Pan's background and found no known ties to Jiang. But as they searched Pan's social media connections, they discovered an unexpected link — Zion Perry, Jiang's fiancée.
Perry and Pan had met years earlier at MIT through a Christian student group but had little interaction. However, just one week before Jiang's murder, Perry announced her engagement to Jiang on Facebook. Investigators now believed Pan had secretly fixated on Perry and was enraged by her engagement.
"It did seem like there was a secret obsession of Pan's going on behind the scenes that Kevin wasn't aware of, and that Zion wasn't aware of," lead detective David Zaweski told CBS News.
Even more unsettling, months before Jiang's death, a shooter had fired .45 caliber bullets into multiple homes in the area. Investigators later concluded that Pan staged these attacks to make Jiang's murder appear like a random act of violence.
Pan's Escape and Capture
Pan fled Massachusetts after the murder, leading to a three-month nationwide manhunt. Investigators discovered he had stolen a vehicle, was carrying multiple fake IDs, and had access to large sums of cash. His parents withdrew money and traveled south with him, but when police stopped them in Georgia, Pan had disappeared.
U.S. Marshals tracked Pan's movements and eventually found him in a boarding house in Alabama, living under a fake name. He had $19,000 in cash, multiple cell phones, and his father's passport. When officers confronted him, "He just came out and said, 'I'm who you're looking for,'" said Matthew Duffy, a supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Connecticut, according to CBS News.
Justice and Lingering Pain
Pan was extradited to Connecticut and charged with murder. Initially pleading not guilty, he later accepted a plea deal, admitting to the killing in exchange for a 35-year sentence.
At his sentencing, as reported by CBS News, Perry spoke directly to him: "Although your sentence is far less than you deserve ... there is also mercy. May God have mercy on you. And may he have mercy on all of us." Jiang's mother, Linda Liu, expressed disappointment, saying the sentence was too short for the man who took her only son.
Where Is Zion Perry Now?
Perry has largely remained out of the public eye since Jiang's murder. Beyond her statement in court during Pan's sentencing, she has not spoken publicly about the case. She is currently a fifth-year PhD student at Yale, researching the complex structures of RNA.
A Crime That Nearly Went Unsolved
Investigators believe that if Pan hadn't gotten his car stuck on the train tracks that night, he might have escaped justice. "Could he have gotten away with murder?" a 48 Hours reporter asked. "He very well could have," Zaweski replied, CBS News reported.
Now, Pan is serving his sentence at Cheshire Correctional Institution in Connecticut, with a release date set for 2056. But for Jiang's loved ones, no punishment will ever bring back the bright future he was robbed of.
References: Ivy League grad student, US Army veteran's killer had eerie motive: detective | Yale grad student shot to death in what investigators feared was a perfect murder | Qinxuan Pan: Where is the Killer Now? | Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
