How an Alleged Obsession Ended in Murder: Yale Student Kevin Jiang Killed — Suspect Sentenced to 35 Years

On Feb. 6, 2021, Kevin Jiang, a 26-year-old Yale graduate student and former Army National Guard lieutenant, was shot eight times after a minor rear-end collision near his fiancée’s apartment in New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood. The violence stunned friends, family and investigators: several rounds were fired so close to Jiang’s head that gunpowder left burn marks on his face.

Incident and Initial Evidence

Police say Jiang left his fiancée Zion Perry’s apartment at about 8:30 p.m. and drove two blocks before his Prius was struck from behind by a dark SUV in what initially appeared to be a minor fender-bender. Investigators believe Jiang exited his vehicle—likely to check damage and exchange information—when the other driver fired repeatedly.

Witnesses reported hearing the crash, seeing muzzle flashes and observing a person dressed in black stand over Jiang and continue shooting after he fell. Detectives later recovered home surveillance video that corroborated those accounts. Eight spent .45-caliber shell casings were recovered at the scene; those casings matched rounds found at four earlier shootings in the area in which bullets had been fired into homes but caused no injuries.

Kevin Jiang and Zion Perry / Credit: Facebook

From Road Rage To Targeted Killing

Initially treated as a possible road-rage attack, the case soon took a different turn as detectives probed Jiang’s life for enemies or motive. Friends and family described him as devoted, deeply religious, altruistic and unlikely to have enemies. He’d brought his mother to live with him, volunteered with the homeless and was engaged to Perry, who posted their engagement on Facebook a week before the slaying.

“It seems a little bit more personal,” lead homicide detective David Zaweski told CBS’s Anne‑Marie Green. “When you have someone laying on the ground and not moving, what would cause someone to continue firing?”

Break In The Case

The investigation turned when North Haven Sgt. Jeffrey Mills reported two separate 911 calls: one, about 30 minutes after the murder, from a motorist—later identified as MIT student Qinxuan Pan—who said he'd become stuck on a snow-covered railroad track near a scrap yard; and a second call, roughly 15 hours later, reporting a bag with a gun and a box of .45-caliber ammunition found at an Arby’s next to the hotel where Pan had been taken.

Detectives searching social media found a connection: Zion Perry was listed as an acquaintance of Pan’s from MIT. Although Perry and Pan had not been in regular contact and were barely acquaintances, investigators developed a theory that Pan harbored an unreciprocated obsession with Perry and targeted Jiang after the engagement announcement.

Qinxuan Pan / Credit: Qinxuan Pan/Facebook

Manhunt And Arrest

A nationwide manhunt followed. U.S. Marshals tracked Pan’s family movements and suspected they might be helping him. Weeks later, Pan’s mother made a phone call from a hotel clerk’s line; that call was traced to a boarding house in Alabama. Marshals moved in, and agents later reported Pan walked out and said, “I’m who you’re looking for.” At arrest he had roughly $20,000 in cash, multiple communication devices and his father’s passport.

Prosecution, Sentencing And Reaction

Pan was charged with Jiang’s murder, accepted a plea deal and was sentenced in April 2024 to 35 years in prison. Pan’s parents were not charged. At sentencing, Jiang’s mother said the term was too short for the person who killed her only son; Perry also addressed Pan from the courtroom, saying the sentence was “far less than you deserve,” but invoked mercy and prayer.

Friends and former military colleagues described Jiang as a man of deep faith and service; when asked if Jiang would have forgiven his killer, those who knew him said they believed he would.

Investigation Takeaway

Investigators say the earlier .45-caliber house shootings were likely part of a deliberate plan to make Jiang’s killing appear random. They also believe that, had Pan not become stranded on the train tracks that night, the case might have been far more difficult to solve.

Sources And Coverage

This account draws on statements from New Haven homicide detectives, U.S. Marshals, court records and reporting from CBS’s "48 Hours" episode "The Ivy League Murder," which documented the investigation and subsequent arrest and prosecution.