The 'Perfect' Yale Murder That Almost Went Unsolved
Kevin Jiang had everything to look forward to — until the night he was ambushed in what investigators feared was a meticulously planned, nearly perfect murder. The 26-year-old Yale graduate student and Army veteran had just proposed to his girlfriend, Zion Perry, sharing their engagement news online. But one week later, a dark SUV rear-ended his car in what seemed like a minor accident. When he stepped out, the other driver opened fire. It had all the markings of a random act of violence. But as investigators dug deeper, they uncovered a calculated plan — and one small mistake that unraveled everything.
A Fender Bender or a Murder Trap?
On Feb. 6, 2021, Jiang and Perry had spent the day hiking, ice fishing, and celebrating their future together. After dinner at her home in the upscale East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, Jiang headed to his own apartment — but he never made it home.
Just two blocks from Perry's home, a dark SUV rear-ended Jiang's Prius. It seemed like a routine fender bender. Witnesses later told police that Jiang got out, likely to check on the damage and exchange information. Instead, the other driver pulled out a gun and starting firing.
The first shot hit Jiang. Then another. And another. Eight rounds in total. Gunpowder burns on his face suggested that some were fired at point-blank range. One witness saw the shooter, dressed in black, standing over Jiang and continuing to fire even after he had collapsed.
A Gunman With a Mysterious Motive
At first, detectives considered the motive could be road rage — still, something felt off. The shooter didn't just fire at Jiang — he executed him. Shell casings at the scene matched .45-caliber bullets from four previous shootings in the area. Those earlier attacks had puzzled police — random homes struck by gunfire, no injuries, no clear motive. Could Jiang's murder be another senseless act of violence, or was it something far more sinister?
The story actually began nearly two months earlier, on Dec. 11, 2020, when an unknown shooter opened fire on a home in New Haven. Over the next two months, three more homes were targeted, with two witnesses reporting a dark-colored SUV fleeing the scene. At each location, investigators found .45-caliber shell casings — the same caliber used to kill Jiang.
Detectives struggled to connect the homes or their residents to one another. The attacks seemed random, but in time, police would uncover a chilling pattern.
A 911 Call and a Bizarre Discovery
The case took a turn when North Haven police received an odd 911 call. Just 30 minutes after the murder, a man had driven an SUV onto a snow-covered railroad track near a scrap metal yard. He told police he was lost and was looking for a highway entrance. His name? Qinxuan Pan.
An MIT-educated AI researcher with a clean record, Pan seemed harmless. The officer on the scene helped him get a tow and a hotel room. At the time, no one connected him to the murder.
But the next morning, another call came in — this time from employees at a nearby Arby's. They had found a bag containing a gun and .45 caliber bullets. The Arby's? Right next to the hotel where Pan had stayed.
By the time police linked the evidence, Pan had disappeared.
The Obsession No One Saw Coming
Detectives searched Pan's social media for any connection to Jiang. At first, nothing. Then, one name jumped out — Zion Perry. She and Pan had met through a Christian student group at MIT, but they were barely acquaintances. They hadn't spoken in years.
Yet police suspected something darker. Perry had posted her engagement photos with Jiang just a week before the murder. Was Pan obsessed with her? Had he stalked her online, watched from a distance, and snapped when she chose someone else?
Investigators later learned that on the day of the shooting, Pan had stolen a car in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and driven it to Connecticut. To further conceal his movements, he switched out the vehicle's license plate with a commercial Connecticut plate, making it harder to trace.
New Haven homicide detectives believed Jiang's murder was no random act of violence. As reported by CBS News, investigator Steven Cunningham said, "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."
The Manhunt and the Parents Who Allegedly Helped
With Pan on the run, investigators shifted their focus to his family. His parents, wealthy and well-connected, had the means to help him disappear. U.S. Marshals grew concerned when they discovered large cash withdrawals from the family's accounts, suspecting they were financing his escape.
When authorities stopped Pan's parents in Georgia on Feb. 11, 2021 — five days after Jiang's death — they admitted they had been traveling with their son. Yet strangely, Pan wasn't present during the traffic stop — they claimed he had simply gotten out of the car and walked away. No explanation, no details. Investigators weren't buying it.
The Phone Call That Changed Everything
Months passed with no sign of Pan. Then, his mother made a critical mistake. She borrowed a hotel clerk's phone to make a call. Investigators traced it to a boarding house in Alabama. U.S. Marshals surrounded the building. Pan surrendered without a fight, telling them, "I'm who you're looking for," according to CBS News.
At the time of his arrest, he had $20,000 in cash, multiple phones, and his father's passport.
Justice Served?
In April 2024, Pan accepted a plea deal and received a 35-year prison sentence. Jiang's family believed it wasn't enough.
Perry addressed Pan directly in court: "Although your sentence is far less than you deserve ... there is also mercy. May God have mercy on you," she said, according to CBS News.
Friends and fellow Army National Guard members believed Jiang would have forgiven his killer. Even in death, they said, his faith and kindness endured.
Pan's parents were never charged with any crimes related to his escape. Despite suspicions that they helped him evade law enforcement, no formal charges were filed.
An Almost Perfect Murder
Police now believe the four "random" shootings of New Haven homes were not isolated incidents at all, but part of Pan's calculated effort to disguise Jiang's murder. They suspect Pan deliberately staged these earlier shootings to mislead them into believing Jiang's death was another random act of violence.
Had Pan not gotten stuck on that railroad track, investigators believe he might have committed the so-called "perfect murder."
"If he had not gotten caught up on those tracks ... it would've been very difficult," said David Zaweski, the lead homicide detective in Jiang's murder, as reported by CBS News. Instead, one wrong turn led to his capture, bringing at least some justice for the man whose bright future was stolen too soon.
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